The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA Championship over the Miami Heat on Monday with Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic landing the Finals MVP.
Although Jokic is clearly a fan fave and respected player, he’s still not as popular as one former Spurs player, according to a new study.
Hall of Famer and former Spur Tim Duncan is the most popular NBA player to ever win the Finals MVP, according to an analysis by online sportsbook Betway.
Betway compiled its rankings by comparing positive sentiment on social media about NBA players, current and former, who have won MVP trophies.
The Big Fundamental was the fan favorite, with 20.7% of social media posts being positive. Duncan narrowly beat out fellow big man Dirk Nowitzki, who garnered 20.5%. Dwayne Wade and Hakeem Olajuwon took the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, while newly minted NBA MVP Nikola Jokic came in at No. 5.
Three of those in the top 5 — Duncan, Nowitzki and Olajuwon — won their Finals MVP trophies while playing for Texas teams. What’s more, four of the players in the top 5 played big-man positions.
In other words, hoops fans really like big men from Texas.
San Antonio sports fans can only hope that French phenom Victor Wembanyama, who many expect the Spurs will draft on June 22, will bring as many championships and finals MVP trophies to the Alamo City as Old Man River Walk.
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed