Tracy McGrady created a debate when he recently declared that the NBA's MVP award holds more weight than a championship ring. That opinion was refuted by many figures, including former L.A. Clippers center Olden Polynice, who slammed T-Mac, calling it just one of the things losers say.
Now here comes 2016 NBA champion Iman Shumpert , who made three straight Finals appearances from 2015 to 2017. Shump thinks the Finals MVP award might carry more weight than the regular-season MVP.
"I don't know because I'm not going to lie, to this day, Andre Iguodala 's MVP holds more weight than a lot of you n—s. I'm not going to lie. It bothers me. He sent us home. I was in the series, bro. No reason for us to go home besides Andre Iguodala deciding I'm going to make threes," said Shumpert on "Gil's Arena."
Iguodala won the Finals MVP award in 2015, when the Golden State Warriors won the first of their four championships in the Steph Curry era. But while Curry led the Dubs in scoring in that series, Iggy's defense on LeBron James and his insertion into the starting lineup are considered the bigger difference-makers in the series.
Iggy held LeBron to 39.8 percent field goal shooting in the series while the Dubs won Games 4 to 6 when Kerr promoted him to a starter. And as Shumpert said, he hit big 3-pointers against in those last three games that kept the Cavs at bay. When it was time to vote, Andre took 7 out of 11 Finals MVP votes, while LeBron got the other four despite playing for the losing team.
"The way that he came out torching us? That holds more weight to me than a lot of regular-season MVPs. Andre Iguodala's MVP will be remembered over James Harden's MVP," Shumpert added.
You can understand where Shumpert is coming from. As one of the Cavs' top 3-and-D wings that season, he witnessed firsthand how Iguodala averaged 16.3 points per game in the series while putting the clamps on James. The fact that Curry got zero votes showed how impressed the voters were with his performance, although there have been arguments about it in later years.
Iman is also correct that the Finals MVP is the guy who sent the opposing team home, and it's his performance that won the championship. By virtue of that, it should carry more weight than a regular-season MVP, because a team can go 82-0 in the regular season but still not win the championship, which is what everyone is really playing for.
But that's Shump's opinion, which he is entitled to — just like T-Mac is with what he said that started this debate. However, if you put the Larry O'Brien Trophy aside, the regular-season MVP is more difficult to win because there is an 82-game season where a player has to prove his worth.
He is competing against the rest of the league, not just players from an opposing team. But again, that's just another opinion. However, that may be a valid reason not to disparage James Harden's 2018 MVP award.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
