Jerry West Finals MVP (Loser)

Lore & Background

The Lakers were heavily favored to win the championship over the Magic. The Orlando Magic's Game 3 victory was the first win in an NBA Finals game in franchise history; they were previously swept in 1995 by the Houston Rockets. As of 2026, this is the last time the Lakers clinched an NBA championship on the road.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Boston Garden was suffocatingly thick with the roar of a sea of Celtics green and the weight of history pressing down on Jerry West. By Game 7, his jersey was drenched in sweat, his legs heavy from seventy minutes of war, yet he remained the focal point of the Lakers' offense. In the dying seconds of regulation, West drove into the teeth of Boston's defense, absorbing contact from two defenders before launching a fading jumper that seemed to hang in the air forever before swishing through the net to force overtime. He knew the Celtics would answer; they always did. But as the clock wound down and the series hung by a thread, victory or defeat became secondary to the sheer, almost defiant will it took for one man to stand alone against a dynasty.

Reader's Guide

The series was a best-of-seven playoff series starting on June 4 and concluding on June 14, 2009. The Lakers won Games 1, 2, 4, and 5; the Magic won Game 3. Game 2 and Game 4 both went to overtime. The Lakers' margin of victory in Game 1 was 25 points, the 6th-largest in NBA Finals Game 1 history.

Did You Know?

• Kobe Bryant was named the Finals MVP.
• The Magic shot 63% from the field in Game 3, a Finals record.
• Dwight Howard was 1–6 from the field in Game 1, his fewest made field goals in his playoff career.
• The series was nicknamed the 'Disney Series' for its connections to The Walt Disney Company.