Latrinsorm
11-30-2013, 09:16 PM
The first Finals MVP was awarded in 1969, to Jerry West in a losing effort. (The Celtics outscored the Lakers over the course of the seven game series by 3 points. Not per game, just 3 points. Game 7 was decided by 2 points, West scored 42 without the benefit of the 3 point line. For the '69 playoffs, he averaged 31 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists. The only players to reach 30 and 7 for a postseason that reached the Finals are Jerry West twice and Michael Jordan once.) Including that year, 28 players have won 45 FMVPs, and I wondered... how do their careers stack up in terms of playoff rounds won?
In the following table, the columns are defined as follows:
FMVP: Finals MVPs won
0: no round reached (did not make playoffs)
1, 2, ...: first, second, ... round reached (and lost)
5: won the Finals in a year when there were 4 rounds played (more on this in a bit)
Cha: Championships
Tot: years played
byes: first round byes earned via regular season seeding when applicable
rd won: total rounds won, where byes count as 0 for 0
rd/yr: rounds won per year played
bye=w: round won per year played, where byes count as 1 for 1
FMVP 0 1 2 3 4 5 Cha Tot byes rd won rd/yr bye=w Name
1 6 0 1 0 1 2 2 10 1 11 1.10 1.20 Bill Walton
1 3 1 2 2 1 2 2 11 3 14 1.27 1.55 Cedric Maxwell
1 4 4 1 5 1 1 1 16 0 18 1.13 1.13 Chauncey Billups
1 1 3 2 2 3 3 3 14 2 25 1.79 1.93 Dennis Johnson
1 3 4 4 1 1 1 1 14 0 13 0.93 0.93 Dirk Nowitzki
1 1 3 1 1 1 3 3 10 0 18 1.80 1.80 Dwyane Wade
2 3 8 3 1 1 2 2 18 0 16 0.89 0.89 Hakeem Olajuwon
1 4 3 1 2 1 2 2 13 0 16 1.23 1.23 Isiah Thomas
1 1 2 0 2 4 3 3 12 1 27 2.25 2.33 James Worthy
1 0 3 2 8 1 0 1 14 4 17 1.21 1.50 Jerry West
1 5 0 3 2 1 1 2 12 2 12 1.00 1.17 Jo Jo White
1 4 5 0 2 1 2 2 14 0 15 1.07 1.07 Joe Dumars
1 3 0 4 1 7 1 8 16 5 26 1.63 1.94 John Havlicek
2 2 3 3 3 4 5 6 20 4 37 1.85 2.05 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2 1 3 5 1 2 5 5 17 0 33 1.94 1.94 Kobe Bryant
2 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 13 3 24 1.85 2.08 Larry Bird
2 2 0 3 1 2 2 2 10 0 19 1.90 1.90 LeBron James
3 0 2 1 1 4 5 5 13 3 32 2.46 2.69 Magic Johnson
6 2 3 2 2 0 6 6 15 0 30 2.00 2.00 Michael Jordan
1 5 7 2 3 1 1 1 19 3 12 0.63 0.79 Moses Malone
1 5 3 3 2 1 1 1 15 0 14 0.93 0.93 Paul Pierce
1 3 1 3 2 0 1 1 10 2 9 0.90 1.10 Rick Barry
3 2 3 5 3 2 4 4 19 0 33 1.74 1.74 Shaquille O'Neal
3 0 3 5 3 1 4 4 16 0 30 1.88 1.88 Tim Duncan
1 0 2 4 2 1 3 3 12 0 23 1.92 1.92 Tony Parker
1 1 6 2 1 2 1 1 13 3 11 0.85 1.08 Wes Unseld
2 2 2 3 1 2 0 2 10 0 11 1.10 1.10 Willis Reed
1 1 1 6 4 2 0 2 14 2 18 1.29 1.43 Wilt ChamberlainNow, as intimated above, the NBA has seen quite a lot of postseason permutations. Wes Unseld played a relatively modest 13 years, but in his first year (1969) the NBA had 14 teams and 8 playoff teams, proceeding obviously with 3 rounds. In his last year (1981) the NBA had 23 teams and 12 playoff teams, so the first round saw the top 2 seeds get a bye and three rounds following. Also interesting is the illustration of Jerry West's career: in 1961 6 of 8 teams made the playoffs and the top seed received a bye, in 1974 8 of 17 teams made the playoffs (one of the very rare seasons in which less than half the league did so).
So when we say "aha! So and so never missed the playoffs, what grit! What grace!", we should keep in mind that "missed the playoffs" means very different things in different formats, let alone in different years or conferences or teams. With all that said, here are the stand outs:
8 of the 28 players are still active, but between Chauncey, Kobe, Duncan, Dirk, and Pierce, those 8 could very easily shrink to 3 in two years. Still, it's the highest in terms of players who have received an FMVP and are still active (so LeBron counts from 2011, not from 2004). The closest was 6 years in a row in the late 80s with various sets of 7 active, but...
Big Game James won the year after Walton retired
Joe Dumars won the year after Cornbread retired
Fire Isiah won the year after Kareem retired
Michael won the year after DJ retired, then kept on winning until Bird retired
The sudden resurgence in repeat champions also resulted in the 97-98 scarcity when the only active FMVPs were Hakeem, Jordan, and Joe Dumars. (One of these players is not like the others.)
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Most rounds won: Kareem (duh) with 37. Kobe has 33 and a very very outside chance of catching him, Tim Duncan with 30 probably has a better but still not much chance, the interesting ones are LeBron with 19 and Tony Parker with 23 (depending on how you feel about Kawhi Leonard), but even if LeBron plays another 10 seasons he'd have to average 1.4 rounds won per year, which is no gimme (and he's not playing another 10 friggin' seasons). If he goes 4 for the next 4 years, giving him 6 titles in a row, he'd only have 35 rounds won, over 41k minutes played in the regular season and over 9k in the playoffs (by far #1). Unless the Heat somehow draft the next Magic Johnson, I don't see him catching Kareem on that front.
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Never missed the playoffs:
Tony Parker
Tim Duncan
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Jerry West
Obviously, every one of these players were drafted to teams that already had great players: Duncan, Robinson, Kareem, Cowens/Archibald/Maxwell, Baylor respectively. It doesn't really say much about these players that their teams were...
sorcerers
injured/tanking
robbing draft picks at gunpoint
exploiting a draft loophole that was immediately closed after they did so
a playoff team, but still had the 2nd overall pick because there were only 8 teams in the NBA
If the Jazz had somehow drafted LeBron in 2003, obviously he has an easier time making the playoffs his first two years than he did with the atrocious Cavs. This is true: 19 different players started at least one game for the 2004 Cavs, including such luminaries as Eric Williams, Ira Newble, Kedrick Brown, Kevin Ollie, Dajuan Wagner, Lee Nailon, J.R. Bremer, Mateen Cleaves, and Michael Stewart.
Also we can look at it the opposite way, who missed the playoffs the most? Surprisingly, the leader is Bill Walton with 6. It's a surprise both because he was supposedly really great and he was only in the league for 10 seasons. Three players are tied with 5: Jo Jo White (in 12), Moses Malone (in 19) (thousand), Paul Pierce (in 15).
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Never lost in the first round:
Bill Walton
Jo Jo White
LeBron James
While the differences in eras are again worth stressing, I think it's fascinating how much cross-talk there is between this list and the last. Is it better to lose in the first round or not make the playoffs at all? Is it better to lose in the Finals or not make the Finals at all? I would think it very obvious that the first is better in both cases, but people are happy to bring up Michael's 6 for 6 record in Finals (which could just as accurately be described as a 6 for 15 record) and a lot of people were keen on stressing Tim Duncan's 4 for 4 record before Ray Allen GOT THOSE ROPES OUT OF THERE.
Also note that "never lost in the first round" is not the same as "won at least one playoff series every year they reached the playoffs" for Walton and White, because each played in one of the bye eras.
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Lastly, although Bill Russell was only eligible for the FMVP in his last season of 1969 and therefore won 0, he ended up with...
0 - 0
1 - 0
2 - 1 (lost to Wilt's Philadelphia 76ers in the 1967 Eastern Division Finals, one round before the Finals)
3 - 1 (lost to Pettit's St. Louis Hawks in the 1958 Finals)
4 - 11 (won... a lot of times)
27 rounds won in 13 years with 9 byes, good for 3rd in rd/yr (2.08) and 1st in bye=w (2.77), won at least one playoff round every year. While it took far less rounds to win any given championship in his era, his longest streak was 18 rounds won (7 years of 2 rounds per championship, 1 of 3, 1 round won the next year). The next closest is a tie at 13 between Jordan's first Bulls and Shaq's Lakers.
In the following table, the columns are defined as follows:
FMVP: Finals MVPs won
0: no round reached (did not make playoffs)
1, 2, ...: first, second, ... round reached (and lost)
5: won the Finals in a year when there were 4 rounds played (more on this in a bit)
Cha: Championships
Tot: years played
byes: first round byes earned via regular season seeding when applicable
rd won: total rounds won, where byes count as 0 for 0
rd/yr: rounds won per year played
bye=w: round won per year played, where byes count as 1 for 1
FMVP 0 1 2 3 4 5 Cha Tot byes rd won rd/yr bye=w Name
1 6 0 1 0 1 2 2 10 1 11 1.10 1.20 Bill Walton
1 3 1 2 2 1 2 2 11 3 14 1.27 1.55 Cedric Maxwell
1 4 4 1 5 1 1 1 16 0 18 1.13 1.13 Chauncey Billups
1 1 3 2 2 3 3 3 14 2 25 1.79 1.93 Dennis Johnson
1 3 4 4 1 1 1 1 14 0 13 0.93 0.93 Dirk Nowitzki
1 1 3 1 1 1 3 3 10 0 18 1.80 1.80 Dwyane Wade
2 3 8 3 1 1 2 2 18 0 16 0.89 0.89 Hakeem Olajuwon
1 4 3 1 2 1 2 2 13 0 16 1.23 1.23 Isiah Thomas
1 1 2 0 2 4 3 3 12 1 27 2.25 2.33 James Worthy
1 0 3 2 8 1 0 1 14 4 17 1.21 1.50 Jerry West
1 5 0 3 2 1 1 2 12 2 12 1.00 1.17 Jo Jo White
1 4 5 0 2 1 2 2 14 0 15 1.07 1.07 Joe Dumars
1 3 0 4 1 7 1 8 16 5 26 1.63 1.94 John Havlicek
2 2 3 3 3 4 5 6 20 4 37 1.85 2.05 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2 1 3 5 1 2 5 5 17 0 33 1.94 1.94 Kobe Bryant
2 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 13 3 24 1.85 2.08 Larry Bird
2 2 0 3 1 2 2 2 10 0 19 1.90 1.90 LeBron James
3 0 2 1 1 4 5 5 13 3 32 2.46 2.69 Magic Johnson
6 2 3 2 2 0 6 6 15 0 30 2.00 2.00 Michael Jordan
1 5 7 2 3 1 1 1 19 3 12 0.63 0.79 Moses Malone
1 5 3 3 2 1 1 1 15 0 14 0.93 0.93 Paul Pierce
1 3 1 3 2 0 1 1 10 2 9 0.90 1.10 Rick Barry
3 2 3 5 3 2 4 4 19 0 33 1.74 1.74 Shaquille O'Neal
3 0 3 5 3 1 4 4 16 0 30 1.88 1.88 Tim Duncan
1 0 2 4 2 1 3 3 12 0 23 1.92 1.92 Tony Parker
1 1 6 2 1 2 1 1 13 3 11 0.85 1.08 Wes Unseld
2 2 2 3 1 2 0 2 10 0 11 1.10 1.10 Willis Reed
1 1 1 6 4 2 0 2 14 2 18 1.29 1.43 Wilt ChamberlainNow, as intimated above, the NBA has seen quite a lot of postseason permutations. Wes Unseld played a relatively modest 13 years, but in his first year (1969) the NBA had 14 teams and 8 playoff teams, proceeding obviously with 3 rounds. In his last year (1981) the NBA had 23 teams and 12 playoff teams, so the first round saw the top 2 seeds get a bye and three rounds following. Also interesting is the illustration of Jerry West's career: in 1961 6 of 8 teams made the playoffs and the top seed received a bye, in 1974 8 of 17 teams made the playoffs (one of the very rare seasons in which less than half the league did so).
So when we say "aha! So and so never missed the playoffs, what grit! What grace!", we should keep in mind that "missed the playoffs" means very different things in different formats, let alone in different years or conferences or teams. With all that said, here are the stand outs:
8 of the 28 players are still active, but between Chauncey, Kobe, Duncan, Dirk, and Pierce, those 8 could very easily shrink to 3 in two years. Still, it's the highest in terms of players who have received an FMVP and are still active (so LeBron counts from 2011, not from 2004). The closest was 6 years in a row in the late 80s with various sets of 7 active, but...
Big Game James won the year after Walton retired
Joe Dumars won the year after Cornbread retired
Fire Isiah won the year after Kareem retired
Michael won the year after DJ retired, then kept on winning until Bird retired
The sudden resurgence in repeat champions also resulted in the 97-98 scarcity when the only active FMVPs were Hakeem, Jordan, and Joe Dumars. (One of these players is not like the others.)
.
Most rounds won: Kareem (duh) with 37. Kobe has 33 and a very very outside chance of catching him, Tim Duncan with 30 probably has a better but still not much chance, the interesting ones are LeBron with 19 and Tony Parker with 23 (depending on how you feel about Kawhi Leonard), but even if LeBron plays another 10 seasons he'd have to average 1.4 rounds won per year, which is no gimme (and he's not playing another 10 friggin' seasons). If he goes 4 for the next 4 years, giving him 6 titles in a row, he'd only have 35 rounds won, over 41k minutes played in the regular season and over 9k in the playoffs (by far #1). Unless the Heat somehow draft the next Magic Johnson, I don't see him catching Kareem on that front.
.
Never missed the playoffs:
Tony Parker
Tim Duncan
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Jerry West
Obviously, every one of these players were drafted to teams that already had great players: Duncan, Robinson, Kareem, Cowens/Archibald/Maxwell, Baylor respectively. It doesn't really say much about these players that their teams were...
sorcerers
injured/tanking
robbing draft picks at gunpoint
exploiting a draft loophole that was immediately closed after they did so
a playoff team, but still had the 2nd overall pick because there were only 8 teams in the NBA
If the Jazz had somehow drafted LeBron in 2003, obviously he has an easier time making the playoffs his first two years than he did with the atrocious Cavs. This is true: 19 different players started at least one game for the 2004 Cavs, including such luminaries as Eric Williams, Ira Newble, Kedrick Brown, Kevin Ollie, Dajuan Wagner, Lee Nailon, J.R. Bremer, Mateen Cleaves, and Michael Stewart.
Also we can look at it the opposite way, who missed the playoffs the most? Surprisingly, the leader is Bill Walton with 6. It's a surprise both because he was supposedly really great and he was only in the league for 10 seasons. Three players are tied with 5: Jo Jo White (in 12), Moses Malone (in 19) (thousand), Paul Pierce (in 15).
.
Never lost in the first round:
Bill Walton
Jo Jo White
LeBron James
While the differences in eras are again worth stressing, I think it's fascinating how much cross-talk there is between this list and the last. Is it better to lose in the first round or not make the playoffs at all? Is it better to lose in the Finals or not make the Finals at all? I would think it very obvious that the first is better in both cases, but people are happy to bring up Michael's 6 for 6 record in Finals (which could just as accurately be described as a 6 for 15 record) and a lot of people were keen on stressing Tim Duncan's 4 for 4 record before Ray Allen GOT THOSE ROPES OUT OF THERE.
Also note that "never lost in the first round" is not the same as "won at least one playoff series every year they reached the playoffs" for Walton and White, because each played in one of the bye eras.
.
Lastly, although Bill Russell was only eligible for the FMVP in his last season of 1969 and therefore won 0, he ended up with...
0 - 0
1 - 0
2 - 1 (lost to Wilt's Philadelphia 76ers in the 1967 Eastern Division Finals, one round before the Finals)
3 - 1 (lost to Pettit's St. Louis Hawks in the 1958 Finals)
4 - 11 (won... a lot of times)
27 rounds won in 13 years with 9 byes, good for 3rd in rd/yr (2.08) and 1st in bye=w (2.77), won at least one playoff round every year. While it took far less rounds to win any given championship in his era, his longest streak was 18 rounds won (7 years of 2 rounds per championship, 1 of 3, 1 round won the next year). The next closest is a tie at 13 between Jordan's first Bulls and Shaq's Lakers.