LeBron James: 3 reasons why he should've been named Finals MVP

It's not something that happens very often, but for a while there seemed to be a good chance LeBron James would be named the NBA Finals MVP regardless of whether his Cleveland Cavaliers or the Golden State Warriors won the series.

But when the Warriors closed out the series in Game 6 on Tuesday to capture their first title in 40 years, it wasn't all that surprising to see the honour given to a player from the winning side. 

Stephen Curry would have been the obvious choice for the award, but in the end it went to Andre Iguodala in large part for his efforts in containing James, as ridiculous as that may sound. 

Having said all that, a case can also be made for James.

Here are 3 reasons why LeBron should have been handed the MVP trophy. 

Numbers alone were astounding

• Game 1: 44 points, eight rebounds, six assists
• Game 2: 39 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists
• Game 3: 40 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists
• Game 4: 20 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists 
• Game 5: 40 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists
• Game 6: 32 points, 18 rebounds, nine assists

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, James became the first player in league history to record two triple-doubles in the same NBA Finals that included 30-plus points.

The remarkable thing is that he flirted with a triple-double in every game of the series. 

James' production on a game-to-game basis in the Finals was nothing short of historical and it's no wonder he became the first player to lead all players, for both teams in points, rebounds, and assists.

He gave maximum effort

James also played an insane amount of minutes.

• Game 1: 46
• Game 2: 50
• Game 3: 46
• Game 4: 41
• Game 5: 45
• Game 6: 47

The minutes he logged and the fact that LeBron touched the ball on pretty much every possession explain his production to some extent, but he was going full tilt all the time.

In Game 6, at a point where any normal human being would be completely out of gas, LeBron stole the ball and zipped down the floor for a slam dunk.

LeBron was a 1-man show

While it might not be fair to Tristan Thompson, Timofey Mozgov, and for two seconds to Matthew Dellavedova, the reality is that James had little choice but to try to win the series on his own. 

Without forward Kevin Love for the entire series and with the loss of point guard Kyrie Irving after Game 1 of the Finals, the challenge of winning a championship for his hometown was always going to be an uphill climb for James.

Coach David Blatt showed no willingness to turn to his bench to give James any amount of rest. Miller and Kendrick Perkins barely touched the floor. Shawn Marion, not at all.

Considering the little support he had, LeBron deserves credit for extending the series as far as it went. 

In the end though, James and the Cavaliers simply lost out to the better team. 

Have your say: