Finals MVP is such a weird award to dish out. Not weird in terms of identifying and honoring the deserving recipient. However, it’s weird because it’s nothing like the regular-season MVP honor, which is often given to the player who scores a ton of points as his team wins games.
Kawhi Leonard earned Finals MVP in 2014 by averaging 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds. Andre Iguodala mostly won his award in 2015 for playing solid defense on LeBron James while putting up 16.3 points, 4.0 assists and 5.8 rebounds. There’s even the rare case that the losing team’s best performer gets thrown into Finals MVP discussions based on overall dominance (see LeBron in 2015).
Nevertheless, the award remains tough to predict, but it won’t stop us from speculating. Here are some of the 2022 Finals MVP favorites and sleepers ahead of Warriors-Celtics.
All odds via Tipico Sportsbook.