Who votes on Finals MVP? Breaking down the voting process and revisiting award winners since 1969

If you're wondering who the best players in NBA history are, Finals MVP isn't a bad place to start.

While the NBA hands out a number of individual awards every season, Finals MVP is reserved for the best of the best. That's not to say there haven't been some unlikely winners over the years, but it's a list that includes legends like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Who receives the honor of voting on one of the NBA's most prestigious awards? It's actually a simple process.

Who votes on NBA Finals MVP?

The NBA Finals MVP has been awarded each season since it was first introduced in 1969. The award is voted on by a panel of 11 media members, who cast their vote after the last game of the series. The player who earns the most votes wins the award.

Example of NBA Finals MVP voting results

Nikola Jokic won the 2023 NBA Finals MVP, and the decision was unanimous. All 11 voters selected Jokic as their series MVP. That included ESPN talent Mark Jackson, who had curiously left Jokic off his NBA MVP ballot earlier in the offseason.

Here's the breakdown of the results:

• Sam Amick (The Athletic): Nikola Jokic
• Malika Andrews (ESPN): Nikola Jokic
• Doris Burke (ESPN Radio): Nikola Jokic
• Miguel Candeias (A Bola, Portugal): Nikola Jokic
• Vincent Goodwill (Yahoo Sports): Nikola Jokic
• Mark Jackson (ESPN/ABC): Nikola Jokic
• Shaun Powell (NBA.com): Nikola Jokic
• Tim Reynolds (Associated Press): Nikola Jokic
• Mike Singer (Denver Post): Nikola Jokic
• Ira Winderman (Sun Sentinel): Nikola Jokic
• Jeff Zillgitt (USA Today): Nikola Jokic
• Total: Nikola Jokic (11)

Full list of NBA Finals MVP award winners

Michael Jordan was named Finals MVP six times in his career, the most in NBA history. In second place is LeBron James, who has won the award four times — two with the Heat, one with the Cavaliers and one with the Lakers. James is the only player in NBA history who has won the award with three different teams.

Jerry West remains the only player in NBA history to win Finals MVP while being on the losing team. James came close in 2015 when he received four votes to Andre Iguodala's seven.