The NBA named Conference Finals MVP trophies after Magic Johnson for the Western Conference and Larry Bird for Eastern Conference two legends who made the NBA more popular in the 1980s.
Conference finals matchups of 2022 is finally set. It started with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals where Miami Heat secured a 118-107 win over the short-handed Boston Celtics with the Jimmy Butler’s game best 41 points.
Followed by the opener Wednesday of the Western Conference finals, where Golden State Warriors beat Dallas Mavericks with their fury defense on a 112-87 margin.
Let’s take look at six candidates who are advancing forward to the race of MVPs. The list below are not meant to be ranking-wise definitely.
Western Conference Finals
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Luka Doncic
With a post-season stats of 31.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 6.6 apg the Slovenian superstar fits in the semis with Dallas Mavericks. Mavs, though sustained a defeat form the Dubs, Doncic was on his way with performance even after minor injuries he got. The 23 years old, Doncic is the second youngest player in the history of NBA playoff to rack up 35 points and 10 rebounds in a Game 7.
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Stephen Curry
An eight time All Star, Curry runs to the conference semis with his 31st career 20+ point postseason outing, routinely hitting all the big shots, The Dubs superstar is a strong claimer of the title. The future Hall of Famer has a post-season stats of 26.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.6 apg.
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Klay Thompson
The Warriors five time All Star averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in the conference semis, and closed out the series with his 15th career postseason outing with 30 points or more. Thompson has drained eight 3-pointers in a game on four occasions, the most in NBA history. Klay is in the race with a Postseason stats of 20.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 apg.
Eastern conference Finals
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Jimmy Butler
Miami Heats Jimmy Butler is a different beast with a postseason stats of 28.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 5.4 apg. Butler has increased his scoring average by 7.3 points, rebounds by 1.7, and his steals from 1.6 per game in the regular season to 2.1 in the playoffs. The six time All Star also boosted his shooting percentages from 43% on field goals in the regular season to 52.5% in the postseason and his 3-point accuracy from 23.3% to 36.4%.
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Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics superstar Tatum scored 17 of his 23 points in Game 7 against the Bucks in the opening half and started off the game shooting 5-for-5 from deep. Tatum is strong in the race with a postseason stats of 28.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.1 apg.
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Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown is the seventh player in Celtics’ history to reach the 50 point mark. Brown holds up a total of seven steals in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks, and he’s 17 thefts in 11 playoff outings in 2022. Brown has a postseason stats of 22.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.8 apg.
