There have been 24 players since the NBA/ABA merger that can credibly claim to have been the best player on a championship team. Pinpointing the exact number of total players in the NBA during that time is challenging (without laborious efforts the likes of which this author won’t be engaging in), but for the purposes of our exercise we are going to use a conservative estimate of 3,500. That means 0.7% of the players in the NBA in nearly half a century have been the best player on a team that has won the title.
No matter the result, the 2024 NBA Finals will deliver a new member of one of The Association’s most hallowed clubs.