The NBA Most Valuable Player Award is the most prestigious individual accomplishment an NBA player can earn. The award earns you the Michael Jordan Trophy, named after the league's greatest player ever. Recently, the rightful winner of the MVP has been one of the most talked about topics in sports. With so much star-studded talent in the NBA, there are tons of opinions on who should win the award every year. Last year, Joel Embiid was named MVP, but Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo had compelling cases as well. In this article, we will look at exactly who has won the NBA MVP each season.
NBA MVP winners by year
1955-56: Bob Pettit, power forward, St. Louis Hawks
1956-57: Bob Cousy, point guard, Boston Celtics
1957-58: Bill Russell, center, Boston Celtics
1958-59: Bob Pettit, power forward, St. Louis Hawks
1959-60: Wilt Chamberlain, center, Philadelphia Warriors
1960-61: Bill Russell, center, Boston Celtics
1961-62: Bill Russell, center, Boston Celtics
1962-63: Bill Russell, center, Boston Celtics
1963-64: Oscar Robertson, point guard, Cincinnati Royals
1964-65: Bill Russell, center, Boston Celtics
1965-66: Wilt Chamberlain, center, Philadelphia 76ers
1966-67: Wilt Chamberlain, center, Philadelphia 76ers
1967-68: Wilt Chamberlain, center, Philadelphia 76ers
1968-69: Wes Unseld, center, Baltimore Bullets
1969-70: Willis Reed, center, New York Knicks
1970-71: Lew Alcindor, center, Milwaukee Bucks
1971-72: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, center, Milwaukee Bucks
1972-73: Dave Cowens, center, Boston Celtics
1973-74: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, center, Milwaukee Bucks
1974-75: Bob McAdoo, center, Buffalo Braves
1975-76: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, center, Los Angeles Lakers
1976-77: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, center, Los Angeles Lakers
1977-78: Bill Walton, center, Portland Trailblazers
1978-79: Moses Malone, center, Houston Rockets
1979-80: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, center, Los Angeles Lakers
1980-81: Julius Erving, small forward, Philadelphia 76ers
1981-82: Moses Malone, center, Houston Rockets
1982-83: Moses Malone, center, Philadelphia 76ers
1983-84: Larry Bird, small forward, Boston Celtics
1984-85: Larry Bird, small forward, Boston Celtics
1985-86: Larry Bird, small forward, Boston Celtics
1986-87: Magic Johnson, point guard, Los Angeles Lakers
1987-88: Michael Jordan, shooting guard, Chicago Bulls
1988-89: Magic Johnson, point guard, Los Angeles Lakers
1989-90: Magic Johnson, point guard, Los Angeles Lakers
1990-91: Michael Jordan, shooting guard, Chicago Bulls
1991-92: Michael Jordan, shooting guard, Chicago Bulls
1992-93: Charles Barkley, power forward, Phoenix Suns
1993-94: Hakeem Olajuwon, center, Houston Rockets
1994-95: David Robinson, center, San Antonio Spurs
1995-96: Michael Jordan, shooting guard, Chicago Bulls
1996-97: Karl Malone, power forward, Utah Jazz
1997-98: Michael Jordan, shooting guard, Chicago Bulls
1998-99: Karl Malone, power forward, Utah Jazz
1999-2000: Shaquille O'Neal, center, Los Angeles Lakers
2000-01: Allen Iverson, shooting guard, Philadelphia 76ers
2001-02: Tim Duncan, power forward, San Antonio Spurs
2002-03: Tim Duncan, power forward, San Antonio Spurs
2003-04: Kevin Garnett, power forward, Minnesota Timberwolves
2004-05: Steve Nash, point guard, Phoenix Suns
2005-06: Steve Nash, point guard, Phoenix Suns
2006-07: Dirk Nowitzki, power forward, Dallas Mavericks
2007-08: Kobe Bryant, shooting guard, Los Angeles Lakers
2008-09: LeBron James, small forward, Cleveland Cavaliers
2009-10: LeBron James, small forward, Cleveland Cavaliers
2010-11:Derrick Rose, point guard, Chicago Bulls
2011-12: LeBron James, small forward, Miami Heat
2012-13: LeBron James, small forward, Miami Heat
2013-14: Kevin Durant, small forward, Oklahoma City Thunder
2014-15: Steph Curry, point guard, Golden State Warriors
2015-16: Steph Curry, point guard, Golden State Warriors
2016-17: Russell Westbrook, point guard, Oklahoma City Thunder
2017-18: James Harden, shooting guard, Houston Rockets
2018-19: Giannis Antetokounmpo, power forward, Milwaukee Bucks
2019-20: Giannis Antetokounmpo, power forward, Milwaukee Bucks
2020-21: Nikola Jokic, center, Denver Nuggets
2021-22: Nikola Jokic, center, Denver Nuggets
2022-23: Joel Embiid, center, Philadelphia 76ers
Multi-time winners
6: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5: Bill Russell, Michael Jordan
4: Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James
3: Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson
2: Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic
NBA MVP history
Despite the NBA existing since 1949 after the merger of the BAA and the NBL, the first NBA MVP award wasn't handed out until the 1955-56 season. Bob Pettit won the inaugural award, and three seasons later, he became the first player to win the MVP twice. The '50s-'70s were dominated by big men, and the MVP winners reflect that. In the first 25 years of the award, a center took home the trophy 21 times. Two of those four other years were Pettit's victories, and he was a power forward.
The MVP winner received the Maurice Podoloff Trophy when winning the MVP until 2022. The trophy was renamed the Michael Jordan Trophy after that, and Nikola Jokic became the first player to win that trophy. While centers dominated the award in the league's early days, Jokic actually became the first center to win MVP since Shaquille O'Neal in 1999-2000.
Players voted their peers as MVP until 1979-80. Since then, sportswriters and broadcasters have formed a panel that votes on the award. Steph Curry is the only player to ever win MVP unanimously when he won his second MVP.
Every player to win NBA MVP through 2007-08 has been selected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Every MVP winner since then is still active. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the most MVP selections, with six total. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird are the only players to win three straight MVPs.
Joel Embiid is the defending MVP winner. He received 915 votes for MVP last season, while Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 674 and 606 votes, respectively. Coming off of a Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic is the odds-on favorite to win the regular season MVP in 2023-24.
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