The 2017 NBA Finals matched up not only the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers but featured (at the time) the men who had won seven of the league’s previous eight NBA MVP awards. With the news that Derrick Rose will join the Cavaliers, that gap is closed.
If you won an MVP from 2009-2016, you now play on one of the two teams that have matched up in each of the last three NBA Finals.
Another former MVP joins the rivalry. pic.twitter.com/pkB7gGjFeL
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 24, 2017
Rose won the MVP in 2011. He was the only man other than his now teammate, LeBron James, to win between 2009-2013.
Remember, Rose thought that the New York Knicks were a super team when he signed with them. We can only imagine what he thinks about the Cavs. Though, given the kerfuffle Kyrie Irving has stirred up, it might not be nearly as super as he thinks.
The more recent MVPs all play for the Warriors. Kevin Durant won in 2014 for the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Stephen Curry took home back-to-back MVP awards in 2015 and 2016.
The only league MVP since 2009 to not play for one of those teams is 2017 winner Russell Westbrook. Don’t bet on him going to either team any time soon.