Only one NBA player has ever won Finals MVP and not made the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, although Andre Iguodala has a chance to become the second.
For a lot of NBA players, winning Finals MVP is the crowning achievement of their career. Not only does it nearly guarantee that they were a champion at one point, but it points to them being at their best when the stakes were highest.
The award has a unique history. Jerry West, the very first winner, remains the only player to take home the hardware while being on the losing team. Michael Jordan has six, the most of anyone, and only LeBron James has won the award with three different teams.
However, Boston Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell has perhaps the worst claim to fame of any Finals MVP.
While West is deeply ashamed of winning the award and losing the 1969 Finals, he is still a legend of the game. He has been enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame as a player, general manager, and Olympian.
Of all eligible players to win Finals MVP, only Maxwell has not made the Hall of Fame. In 2024, Chauncey Billups became the most recent Finals MVP to be enshrined.
Maxwell played eight seasons in Boston, averaging 13.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. He won two rings in Boston and won Finals MVP in 1981, when Boston beat the Houston Rockets in six games.
In that series, Maxwell outscored Larry Bird, propelling the Celtics to their 14th title.
He did not make the NBA Hall of Fame when he was eligible, mostly thanks to the fact that he never made an All-Star Team. In fact, in addition to being the only eligible Finals MVP not in Springfield, he is the only winner who never made the All-Star Game.
Players are eligible to make the Hall of Fame five years after retiring. Of the still-ineligible Finals MVPs, virtually all are locks to make the Hall of Fame.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Brown, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant are all locks to make the Hall. According to Basketball-Reference’s model, Andre Iguodala has only a 12.69% chance of making it.
Granted, 11 players with worse odds have already been enshrined, and the nostalgia surrounding the “Splash Brothers” Golden State Warriors might be enough to get him in.
Iguodala’s crowning achievement, winning the 2015 Finals MVP, has long been scrutinized, as the majority of fans think Curry deserved it over him, including Iguodala himself.
The basketball Hall of Fame is the easiest of the major sports to get into, and Iguodala’s two-way success for nearly two decades, as well as four total championships, might be enough to get him in, leaving Maxwell on his own.
