NBA Finals 2022: Stephen Curry to Jaylen Brown - Ranking the contenders in the MVP race
With three games done and the NBA 2022 Finals poised at 2-1 to the Boston, let’s look at three of the likeliest candidates for the MVP accolade.
FollowThe NBA Finals MVP is the accolade given to the player who has the best performance in the Final. After Jerry West won the Finals MVP while being on the losing team during the first iteration of the award, no player has won the award while being on the losing side. It means the award is presented to the best performer for the championship team, opening up possibilities even more. Here are three candidates for the accolade:
Stephen Curry: While Draymond Green and Klay Thompson have blown hot and cold in the series, Steph Curry has been consistently elite in the 2022 NBA Finals. While the point guard has missed the accolade in the past during championship years, Curry will win the Finals MVP if the Warriors win the championship.
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Steph is averaging more than 31 points per game while making a staggering six threes a game. Curry started the series with a 34-point game that saw a Finals record five threes in a single quarter [first]. Curry had 29 in three quarters in the Warriors’ only win of the series so far, while he gave his team a chance with a third-quarter explosion which saw him end the game with 31 points.
Jayson Tatum: Celtics star Jayson Tatum has thrived in these NBA Playoffs. This Finals series has seen Tatum put together the best playmaking stretch of his career. Tatum usually draws the attention of multiple defenders, and he’s become a great player at finding the open man. In Game 1, the star made the record for most assists in the Finals debut with 13 assists. In Game 3, Tatum added a further nine assists. Tatum’s scoring has been inconsistent, especially in Game 1, where he only made three of his 17 field goals, opening a possibility for his teammate to win the prestigious accolade.
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Jaylen Brown: Brown started the series well with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals in Game 1. Brown played a vital role on both ends in the massive 40-16 fourth-quarter run to end Game 1 that included ten straight points that brown scored or assisted. Game 2 was down for Brown and the Celtics as the Shooting Guard went 5/17 from the field. However, he returned with his best performance in the series in Game 3, a team-leading 27 points on 56% FG with nine rebounds, five assists, and one memorable block.
