NBA Most Valuable Player Award

National Basketball Association awards and honors
Championship

Individual awards

Honors

The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 NBA season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first NBA commissioner (then president)[lower-alpha 1] of the NBA who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963. Until the 1979–80 season, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since the 1980–81 season, the award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. Each first-place vote is worth 10 points; each second-place vote is worth seven; each third-place vote is worth five, fourth-place is worth three and fifth-place is worth one. Starting from 2010, one ballot was cast by fans through online voting. The player with the highest point total wins the award.[2] As of May 2015, the current holder of the award is Stephen Curry.

Every player who has won this award that is eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record six times.[3] Both Bill Russell and Michael Jordan won the award five times,[4] while Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James won the award four times in their respective careers. Russell and James are the only players to have won the award four times in five seasons.[5] Moses Malone, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson each won the award three times, while Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash have each won it twice.[4] Only two rookies have won the award: Wilt Chamberlain in the 1959–60 season and Wes Unseld in the 1968–69 season.[6]

Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria,[lower-alpha 2] Tim Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands,[lower-alpha 3] Steve Nash of Canada[lower-alpha 4] and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany are the only international MVP winners. Duncan is an American citizen by birth, but is considered an international player by the NBA.[9] Of these four players, only Nowitzki was trained totally outside the United States—the other three all played U.S. college basketball (Olajuwon at Houston, Duncan at Wake Forest, and Nash at Santa Clara).

No player has ever won the award unanimously by capturing all first-place votes.[11] Shaquille O'Neal in 1999–2000 and LeBron James in 2012–13 are the only two players to have fallen one vote shy of a unanimous selection, both receiving 120 of 121 votes.[lower-alpha 5][5] Since the 1982–83 season, every winner was from a team that won at least 50 games in the regular season that year.[lower-alpha 6][12][13]

Winners

^ Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
dagger Denotes player whose team won championship that year
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player has been named MVP
Team (X) Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won
Wilt Chamberlain won the award four times in his NBA career.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record-setting six times in his career.
Michael Jordan won the award five times in his career.
LeBron James is a four-time NBA MVP.
Tim Duncan, of the San Antonio Spurs, won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in the '01-02 and '02-03 seasons.
Derrick Rose became the youngest player to ever win the award at age 22.
Stephen Curry is the reigning MVP from 2015.
Season Player Position Nationality Team
1955–56 Pettit, BobBob Pettit* Forward  United States St. Louis Hawks
1956–57 dagger Cousy, BobBob Cousy* Guard  United States Boston Celtics
1957–58 Russell, BillBill Russell* Center  United States Boston Celtics (2)
1958–59 Pettit, BobBob Pettit* (2) Forward  United States St. Louis Hawks (2)
1959–60 Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain* Center  United States Philadelphia Warriors
1960–61 dagger Russell, BillBill Russell* (2) Center  United States Boston Celtics (3)
1961–62 dagger Russell, BillBill Russell* (3) Center  United States Boston Celtics (4)
1962–63 dagger Russell, BillBill Russell* (4) Center  United States Boston Celtics (5)
1963–64 Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson* Guard  United States Cincinnati Royals
1964–65 dagger Russell, BillBill Russell* (5) Center  United States Boston Celtics (6)
1965–66 Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain* (2) Center  United States Philadelphia 76ers
1966–67 dagger Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain* (3) Center  United States Philadelphia 76ers (2)
1967–68 Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain* (4) Center  United States Philadelphia 76ers (3)
1968–69 Unseld, WesWes Unseld* Center/Forward  United States Baltimore Bullets
1969–70 dagger Reed, WillisWillis Reed* Center/Forward  United States New York Knicks
1970–71 dagger Lew Alcindor*[lower-alpha 7] Center  United States Milwaukee Bucks
1971–72 Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar*[lower-alpha 7] (2) Center  United States Milwaukee Bucks (2)
1972–73 Cowens, DaveDave Cowens* Center  United States Boston Celtics (7)
1973–74 Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar*[lower-alpha 7] (3) Center  United States Milwaukee Bucks (3)
1974–75 McAdoo, BobBob McAdoo* Forward/Center  United States Buffalo Braves
1975–76 Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar*[lower-alpha 7] (4) Center  United States Los Angeles Lakers
1976–77 Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar*[lower-alpha 7] (5) Center  United States Los Angeles Lakers (2)
1977–78 Walton, BillBill Walton* Center  United States Portland Trail Blazers
1978–79 Malone, MosesMoses Malone* Center  United States Houston Rockets
1979–80 dagger Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar*[lower-alpha 7] (6) Center  United States Los Angeles Lakers (3)
1980–81 Erving, JuliusJulius Erving* Forward  United States Philadelphia 76ers (4)
1981–82 Malone, MosesMoses Malone* (2) Center  United States Houston Rockets (2)
1982–83 dagger Malone, MosesMoses Malone* (3) Center  United States Philadelphia 76ers (5)
1983–84 dagger Bird, LarryLarry Bird* Forward  United States Boston Celtics (8)
1984–85 Bird, LarryLarry Bird* (2) Forward  United States Boston Celtics (9)
1985–86 dagger Bird, LarryLarry Bird* (3) Forward  United States Boston Celtics (10)
1986–87 dagger Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson* Guard  United States Los Angeles Lakers (4)
1987–88 Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* Guard  United States Chicago Bulls
1988–89 Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson* (2) Guard  United States Los Angeles Lakers (5)
1989–90 Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson* (3) Guard  United States Los Angeles Lakers (6)
1990–91 dagger Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (2) Guard  United States Chicago Bulls (2)
1991–92 dagger Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (3) Guard  United States Chicago Bulls (3)
1992–93 Barkley, CharlesCharles Barkley* Forward  United States Phoenix Suns
1993–94 dagger Olajuwon, HakeemHakeem Olajuwon* Center  Nigeria[lower-alpha 2] Houston Rockets (3)
1994–95 Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson* Center  United States San Antonio Spurs
1995–96 dagger Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (4) Guard  United States Chicago Bulls (4)
1996–97 Malone, KarlKarl Malone* Forward  United States Utah Jazz
1997–98 dagger Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (5) Guard  United States Chicago Bulls (5)
1998–99 Malone, KarlKarl Malone* (2) Forward  United States Utah Jazz (2)
1999–00 dagger O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal* Center  United States Los Angeles Lakers (7)
2000–01 Iverson, AllenAllen Iverson* Guard  United States Philadelphia 76ers (6)
2001–02 Duncan, TimTim Duncan^ Forward/Center  United States[lower-alpha 3] San Antonio Spurs (2)
2002–03 dagger Duncan, TimTim Duncan^ (2) Forward/Center  United States[lower-alpha 3] San Antonio Spurs (3)
2003–04 Garnett, KevinKevin Garnett^ Forward/Center  United States Minnesota Timberwolves
2004–05 Nash, SteveSteve Nash Guard  Canada[lower-alpha 4] Phoenix Suns (2)
2005–06 Nash, SteveSteve Nash (2) Guard  Canada[lower-alpha 4] Phoenix Suns (3)
2006–07 Nowitzki, DirkDirk Nowitzki^ Forward  Germany Dallas Mavericks
2007–08 Bryant, KobeKobe Bryant Guard  United States Los Angeles Lakers (8)
2008–09 James, LeBronLeBron James^ Forward  United States Cleveland Cavaliers
2009–10 James, LeBronLeBron James^ (2) Forward  United States Cleveland Cavaliers (2)
2010–11 Rose, DerrickDerrick Rose^ Guard  United States Chicago Bulls (6)
2011–12 dagger James, LeBronLeBron James^ (3) Forward  United States Miami Heat
2012–13 dagger James, LeBronLeBron James^ (4) Forward  United States Miami Heat (2)
2013–14 Durant, KevinKevin Durant^ Forward  United States Oklahoma City Thunder
2014–15 dagger Curry, StephenStephen Curry^ Guard  United States Golden State Warriors (2)

Multiple–time winners

Rank PlayerTeam AwardsYears
1Kareem Abdul-JabbarMilwaukee Bucks (3) /Los Angeles Lakers (3)61971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980
2Bill Russell
Boston Celtics51958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965
Michael JordanChicago Bulls1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998
4Wilt ChamberlainPhiladelphia Warriors (1) /Philadelphia 76ers (3)41960, 1966, 1967, 1968
LeBron JamesCleveland Cavaliers (2) /Miami Heat (2)2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
6Moses MaloneHouston Rockets (2) /Philadelphia 76ers (1)31979, 1982, 1983
Larry BirdBoston Celtics1984, 1985, 1986
Magic JohnsonLos Angeles Lakers1987, 1989, 1990
9Bob PettitSt. Louis Hawks21956, 1959
Karl MaloneUtah Jazz1997, 1999
Tim DuncanSan Antonio Spurs2002, 2003
Steve NashPhoenix Suns2005, 2006

Notes

  1. The official title of the position was NBA President until 1967 when it was changed to NBA Commissioner.[1]
  2. 1 2 Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria, but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993. He was the first ever international player to win the award.[7]
  3. 1 2 3 Although Tim Duncan was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands and is a United States citizen,[8] the NBA considers him an international player.[9]
  4. 1 2 3 Steve Nash, who was born in South Africa, was raised in Canada.[10]
  5. Allen Iverson received the only other first-place vote in 2000, while Carmelo Anthony received the only other first-place vote in 2013.[5]
  6. Except for seasons affected by lockouts, when the schedule was shortened from the norm of 82 games. Karl Malone won in 1998–99 when Utah was 37–13 in 50 games, which projected to 60 wins in 82 games. James won in 2011–12 when the Miami Heat were 46–20 in 66 games, which projected to 57 wins.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Before the 1971–72 season, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[14]

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. Monroe, Mike. "The Commissioners". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  2. "LeBron receives 116 first-place votes". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. May 2, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  3. "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Most Valuable Player". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 Wallace, Michael (May 5, 2013). "LeBron James wins 4th MVP award". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013.
  6. "Wes Unseld". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  7. "Hakeem Olajuwon Bio: 1992-93". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  8. "Virgin Islands". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
  9. 1 2 "NBA Players from around the world: 2005-2006 Season". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  10. McPeek, Jeramie. "The Canadian Kid". NBA.com (from Fastbreak Magazine on Sept./Oct. 1996). Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  11. "Vote for Melo keeps LeBron from unanimous MVP nod". CBSSports.com. May 5, 2013. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013.
  12. "Who is the leading MVP candidate?". ESPN.com. March 6, 2015. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015.
  13. Hubbard, Jan (April 22, 1990). "NBA NOTES : Charles Barkley Running a Slick Campaign for MVP". Newsday. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015.
  14. "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.