The Miami Heat are on to the NBA Finals after defeating the Celtics in seven games to win the East. The Heat received the Bob Cousy Trophy for winning the conference, but there was one more piece of hardware to be handed out on Monday night.
For each of the last two seasons, the NBA has given out MVP awards for the conference finals. The Eastern Conference’s trophy is named for Celtics legend Larry Bird, and it was awarded to Heat star Jimmy Butler after Game 7.
It’s difficult to say that Butler didn’t deserve the award, especially for his play early in the series, but voting was closer than you may think.
Jimmy Butler edges Caleb Martin 5-4 in Eastern Conference finals MVP voting. https://t.co/SyF8dRu0bZ
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 30, 2023
Butler actually narrowly won the award over his teammate Caleb Martin by a score of 5-4.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Doris Burke, TNT’s Reggie Miller, Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach and the Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman voted for Butler.
The AP’s Tim Reynolds, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon and the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn voted for Martin.
Martin emerged as one of Miami’s best players during the series against Boston, helping to close out the defending Eastern Conference Champions with 26 points and 10 rebounds on the road in Game 7.
Martin may not have won the MVP for the Eastern Conference Finals, but there’s one more MVP award he could take home – the Finals MVP.
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