Turns out there were even people ranking Dirk as the best player left in the playoffs BEFORE the Finals started, when Durant, Rose, LeBron, and Wade were all still in the picture:
Dirk Nowitzki: Why He's the Best Player Left in the 2011 NBA Playoffs
I was thinking, "Hmmm, I wonder what they were saying when such an incredible talent like Melo along with a nice vet like Chauncey were traded for a few mediocre players halfway through that season?"
Carmelo Anthony To Knicks Trade Involves 12 Players, Three Teams: A Full Breakdown
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Carmelo Anthony Headed to the Knicks
Carmelo got ONE 5th-place MVP vote in 2011 and finished tied for 15th in MVP voting, the same year that Dirk got 46 top-5 votes including multiple 2nd-place and 3rd-place votes and finished 6th. You're just being silly now.
Melo, Wade, CP3 were all getting hit with 1st-round exits too.
So I guess AD clearly ain't a top-5 player either then considering his postseason success the last 4 years looks even worse than Dirk's, right?