NBA MVP, Finals MVP and Champion

Question

So LeBron just won the title, the NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP. Who else has done that?

Also, I know that generally the NBA Finals MVP belongs to the team that won the title, but I believe there was an instance where that didn't happen. Which season was that?

Answer 1

This is actually a fairly-common occurrence over the history of the NBA, it just hasn't happened recently:

• Willis Reed (NYK) - 1970
• Lew Alcindor {Kareem Abdul-Jabbar} (MIL) - 1971
• Moses Malone (PHI) - 1983
• Larry Bird (BOS) - 1984, 1986
• Magic Johnson (LAL) - 1987
• Michael Jordan (CHI) - 1991, 1992
• Hakeem Olajuwon (HOU) - 1994
• Michael Jordan (CHI) - 1996, 1998
• Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) - 2000
• Tim Duncan (SAS) - 2003
• LeBron James (MIA) - 2012, 2013

Jerry West, by the way, was the only NBA Finals MVP from the losing team. That was the first Finals MVP awarded back in 1969.

Sources (1) (2)