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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Bryan Kalbrosky

Who won NBA Finals MVP in 1980? Winning Time viewers, here’s the remarkable story

NBA NBA Finals NBA Finals MVP HBO Lakers

Few would take you seriously if you were in a writer’s room and suggested that a rookie win NBA Finals MVP. But the truth is stranger than fiction.

Fans caught up on HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty saw the first season’s finale last night. The episode showed what happened at the end of the 1979-80 season. Johnson, who was named as an All-Star starter during his first year in the league, lost out on Rookie of the Year honors to rival Larry Bird.

The Lakers, however, went on to win the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Bird’s Celtics were defeated by Julius Erving’s 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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