Should have a playoffs MVP instead.
Nah, that would be a fukking mess. How do you compare players who played just 1-2 series to players who played in the Finals? How do you even compare someone who lost in the conference Finals to someone who won? If someone was clearly better all playoffs long but then fukked up in the Finals, do you give it to them or do you give it to the player who outperformed them in the Finals? Do you automatically give playoffs MVP to someone on the winning team, or at least someone who made the Finals, or is anyone eligible?
So many years would be a fukking mess
Look at '86
Jordan averaged 44-6-6 against the eventual champ Celtics and had the 63-point game....do you not give it to him just because his team sucked?
Hakeem averaged 27-12-2 and 4 blocks/game in leading his team to a surprise Finals appearance, had to be triple-teamed by Boston whenever he got the ball down low
Bird averaged 27-9-8 and actually won in the Finals, but had the far better team and didn't get even close the defensive attention that Hakeem got.
Magic averaged 22-7-15 on 54% shooting that postseason but got bumped by the Rockets in the WCF, how does his performance factor in?
How about '04?
Do you give it to Kobe, averaging 25-5-5 in the playoffs but just 41% shooting and shot them out of the Finals?
Or Shaq who averaged 22-13-3 on 59% shooting with 3 blocks/game in the playoffs but lost in the Finals too?
Billups was Finals MVP but he had pedestrian 16-3-6 on 39% shooting numbers for the playoffs
Hamilton was Detroit's leading scorer with 22-5-4 on 45% shooting, but it's not like he really drove their team.
Ben Wallace averaged 10-14-2 with 2 steals and 2 blocks and was really the heart of Detroit's defense, do you give it to him?
Maybe KG is the real playoffs MVP, his 24-15-5 with 2 blocks a game shyts on the rest statistically, but he lost in the WCF.
MJ had by far the best numbers in 1990, do you give it to him over IT even though Jordan lost in the ECF? Does LeBron get it in 2007 even though he got swept in the Finals? You could justify Kobe winning Playoffs MVP in 2008 even though he got eliminated in embarrassing fashion, but then loses playoffs MVP to LeBron the next year even though the playoffs ended in triumph.
Unless you made some rules around it then it's just a total mess.