With all due respect to Andre Iguodala, who was fantastic all Finals – the perfect role-player – he was never expected to be the difference maker. And he wasn’t, really. Iggy was the Finals MVP for his effort, his tenacity, his brilliant defence and his valuable and timely scoring. It was a case of a man reaching beyond what was expected of him to reach a peak at the most important time. And in winning the award he became the first Finals MVP in league history not to start every game in the series. Not only that, but the three starts that Iggy did make were the only three he made all season!

It was a refreshing change of pace to see Iguodala get the award. So often there’s that other guy who does all the hard work and the star man comes through with all the plaudits for doing what everyone thought they would all along. He logged 16.3 points, 4 assists and 5.8 rebounds a game, and had a massive 26/5/5 haul in game six to win the biscuits. The only thing he did poorly was shoot free throws. Plus Iguodala was tasked with the toughest role in basketball: Guarding LeBron James in a Finals series. Something that Kawhi Leonard, the previous Finals MVP, also took the burden of.

Iggy was superb, but he shouldn’t have been the MVP. He wasn’t even the most valuable player on his own team. While he definitely covered some of the slack of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (Green had his moments, like a trip-dub in the final game), it was still Steph Curry that led the Warriors in scoring, taking most of their key shots and running the offence. Not the regular season MVP’s best series, his percentages were down from the field and Cleveland certainly instigated that with some tough defence. But still pretty damn good.

The concept of ‘Most Valuable’ is a tricky one because there isn’t really a definition. Is it the most irreplaceable player or the best performing player? Andre Iguodala wasn’t really either of those things. And as refreshing a call it was for a Swiss army knife role player to win the award, it would have been even more refreshing if the voters had acknowledged the superhuman efforts of another man: LeBron James.

Seriously. I know he’s won this before, but never on the losing end. And while the Warriors were deserving winners, nobody came close to matching what LeBron did in single-handedly demanding that his team keep striving for victory despite the roster beginning to fall apart at the seams as the postseason progressed. Losing Kyrie Irving was the last blow. From then on LBJ was on a solo mission. Incredibly, he nearly pulled it off. He got the Cavaliers up 2-1 despite it all, he just couldn’t get consistent backup from the battlers left beside him. Not a single ounce of blame should be placed on LeBron’s shoulders, he could have done no more.

Except that the only man to ever win the Finals MVP from the losing side was Jerry West, way back in 1969. It just ain’t the done thing. But then ruling Iggy out of contention by concluding that Steph played better leaves you with a head to head between the superstars. Here’s how that panned out:

Game One – GSW wins 108-100

LeBron James – 46 mins, 18-38 FG, 2-8 3pt, 8 reb, 6 ast, 44 pts

Steph Curry – 43 mins, 10-20 FG, 2-6 3pt, 4 reb, 8 ast, 26 pts

Game Two – CC wins 95-93

LeBron James – 50 mins, 11-35 FG, 3-6 3pt, 16 reb, 11 ast, 39 pts

Steph Curry – 42 mins, 5-23 FG, 2-15 3pt, 6 reb, 5 ast, 19 pts

Game Three – CC wins 96-91

LeBron James – 46 mins, 14-36 FG, 2-6 3pt, 12 reb, 8 ast, 40 pts

Steph Curry – 44 mins, 10-20 FG, 7-13 3pt, 6 reb, 6 ast, 27 pts

Game Four – GSW wins 103-82

LeBron James – 41 mins, 7-22 FG, 1-4 3pt, 12 reb, 8 ast, 20 pts

Steph Curry – 41 mins, 8-17 FG, 4-7 3pt, 2 reb, 7ast, 17 pts

Game Five – GSW wins 104-91

LeBron James – 45 mins, 15-34 FG, 3-8 3pt, 14 reb, 11 ast, 40 pts

Steph Curry – 42 mins, 13-23 FG, 7-13 3pt, 7 reb, 4 ast, 37 pts

Game Six – GSW wins 105-97

LeBron James – 47 mins, 13-33 FG, 2-10 3pt, 18 reb, 9 ast, 32 pts

Steph Curry – 43 mins, 8-19 FG, 3-11 3pt, 6 reb, 8 ast, 25 pts

THE CASE FOR LEBRON AS FINALS MVP

• Look at those series averages. Absolutely immense. His numbers were better than any other player and it wasn’t all that close.
• LeBron became the first player in Finals history to lead both teams in total points, rebounds and assists.
• He did it all without his two best and most reliable teammates in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
• Meanwhile Iggy & Curry not only had each other but also Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and Shaun Livingston, all of whom are better players then their Cavs equivalent looking at the game six line-ups (except for Iggy on LeBron).
• His usage rate was 40.8%, the second highest in finals history – Michael Jordan had a higher mark in 1998 when he won Finals MVP. James basically was the Cav on offence. They couldn’t rely on any one else so they isolated him and he delivered repeatedly.
• Did Andre Iguodala play better than LeBron James over the six games? Of course not.
• Did Steph Curry? Nope.

THE CASE AGAINST LEBRON AS FINALS MVP

• His efficiency of shooting was down, these were his slash stats: .398/.310/.687
• It would have been a bittersweet award, having to accept the trophy in a moment of devastation.
• He lost.

There’s no rule for only giving the award to a player from the winning team and if ever there was an opportunity for a losing player to win it then it was here in 2015. So you’ve gotta think that no losing player will ever win it again based on this. LeBron James had a series for the ages with almost zero help against a historically good team that won 67 games in the regular season and featuring the MVP of the regular season. There’s no logical argument that stands in his way as to his being the best and most valuable player of these finals.

Yet this is what Jerry West wrote in his autobiography about his 1969 award:

“I was rewarded, if you can call it that, with the MVP award. I went to New York not long after to pick up my booby prize, a brand-new, souped-up Dodge Charger — green, no less. I felt like putting a stick of dynamite in it and blowing it up, right there in Manhattan.”

LeBron himself said during the series that he didn’t want the MVP award unless his team won. He didn’t get it. Perhaps it was out of sympathy that he was denied, saving him from having to hang around for the GSW celebrations. And maybe that was reward enough in itself. He knows that he’s still the best player in the world and he knows that he was the best player in this series. LeBron doesn’t need a trophy to tell him that. Instead Andre Iguodala gets the reward and a wonderful redemption story to go with it. The GSW jubilation is extended that little bit further and we can all feel good about it, like the brand-conscious NBA want us to. Nobody really suffers. LeBron was the most valuable player of the 2015 NBA finals… he just wasn’t the MVP is all.