Key Takeaways MVP awards can be controversial; top snubs include Kobe over Chris Paul, Iverson over Shaq, & Wilt losing to Russell.
A player’s impact on team success is a factor; Kobe in ’08 fell short despite a strong season.
Wilt Chamberlain’s record-breaking ’61-’62 season snubbed, losing MVP to Bill Russell.
The NBA Most Valuable Player award has been given out at the end of every season since 1955-56. The award is given to the best performing player of the regular season. The first winner of the award was Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks, now the Atlanta Hawks, in 1955-56.
Over the years, the MVP award has signified greatness in the NBA. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads the way with six MVPs, while Michael Jordan and Bill Russell are tied for second with five. Active players who have won the award more than once include LeBron James with four, Nikola Jokic with three and both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry with two.
There have been many controversial choices for the award over the years, leading to many players being snubbed from winning it. One snub that just missed this list was the 1969-70 MVP race between Willis Reed and Jerry West. Reed won the award, the only one of his career, despite West averaging 31.2 points and 7.5 assists per game. Reed’s New York Knicks would also go on to defeat West’s L.A. Lakers in the Finals. West finished his career without winning the award.
Here are the top 10 MVP snubs in NBA history.
10 Chris Paul (2007-08)
MVP winner: Kobe Bryant
In 2007-08, Kobe Bryant was awarded with his first and only MVP award of his legendary career. While he did post a great season, Chris Paul made the case that he should have won the award.
Kobe averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He also led the Lakers to a 57-25 record, the best in the Western Conference.
On the other hand, Paul had arguably the best season of his career. He averaged 21.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 11.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game while leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 56-26 record, the second best in the West.
2007-08 MVP Race Player G PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3PT% 1st Place Votes Total Votes Kobe Bryant 82 28.3 6.3 5.4 1.8 45.9% 36.1% 82 1,100 Chris Paul 80 21.1 4.0 11.6 2.7 48.8% 36.9% 28 894
During the season, the Lakers got off to a rather pedestrian 9-8 start after Kobe demanded a trade before the season. As they dealt with the trade rumors, they then traded for Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies, growing into a championship contender.
Paul, on the other hand, led the Hornets to the second seed in the very tough Western Conference. Paul put together an incredible season, but fell short of winning the MVP award.
Bryant dominated the MVP voting, outscoring Paul in first place votes 82 to 28. He also led in total votes with 1,100 compared to Paul’s 894. LeBron also made a case for the award after beating out Kobe for the scoring title, but he ultimately finished third in voting.
This was Kobe’s only MVP award of his career, while Paul will likely finish his career without one.
9 Willis Reed (1968-69)
MVP winner: Wes Unseld
In his rookie season in 1968-69, Wes Unseld capped off his impressive season by being named MVP. By winning the award, he joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player to win MVP in his rookie season.
While Unseld did have a great season, Willis Reed also put together a strong case for the award.
Unseld averaged 13.8 points and 18.2 rebounds en route to winning the only MVP award of his career. His 13.8 points per game makes him the lowest scoring MVP winner in NBA history. He also led the Washington Bullets, now the Washington Wizards, to a 57-25 record, the best in the Eastern Conference.
Reed also put together a great season, averaging 21.1 points and 14.5 rebounds per game, but came up short in the MVP race. He led the Knicks to a 54-28 record, third in the East.
1968-69 MVP Race Player G PPG RPG APG FG% 1st Place Votes Total Votes Wes Unseld 82 13.8 18.2 2.6 47.6% 53 310 Willis Reed 82 21.1 14.5 2.3 52.1% 18 137
In the MVP voting, Unseld dominated, grabbing 53 first place votes to Reed’s 18. Unseld also dominated in total votes with 310, while Reed only had 137.
This was Unseld’s only MVP award of his career, while Reed won his only one in 1969-70. Reed got his revenge in the playoffs as the Knicks eliminated the Bullets in the second round, but lost to the Celtics in the Conference Finals.
8 LeBron James (2010-11)
MVP winner: Derrick Rose
© David Richard-Imagn Images
Even though LeBron has won four MVPs during his future Hall of Fame career, he may have been robbed of his fifth in 2010-11.
The MVP winner in 2010-11 was Derrick Rose, who beat out Dwight Howard, who finished second in voting, and LeBron. This was Rose’s first and only MVP award of his career. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to win the award.
Rose had a great season, averaging 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists, becoming one of the best young point guards in the NBA. He also led the Chicago Bulls to a 62-20 record, the best in the East.
LeBron had an even better season, averaging 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in his first season with the Miami Heat. He led Miami to a 58-24 record, second best in the East behind Rose’s Bulls, which may have factored into the voters’ decisions as well as LeBron playing with both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
2010-11 MVP Race Player G PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3PT% 1st Place Votes Total Votes Derrick Rose 81 25.0 4.1 7.7 1.0 44.5% 33.2% 113 1,182 LeBron James 79 26.7 7.5 7.0 1.6 51.0% 33.0% 4 522
Despite LeBron’s great season, Rose dominated MVP voting. Rose received 113 first place votes and 1,182 total votes. Howard finished second in voting, receiving three first place votes. LeBron finished third in voting, receiving only four first place votes and 522 total votes, losing the award to Rose.
LeBron got his revenge in the Conference Finals as the Heat eliminated the Bulls before losing to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
7 George Gervin (1977-78)
MVP winner: Bill Walton
The 1977-78 MVP race came down to the wire between four players; Bill Walton, George Gervin, David Thompson and Kareem.
Walton ended up winning the award by 16.5 votes over Gervin despite playing in only 58 games. In those 58 games, he averaged 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 blocks. He also led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 58-24 record, the best in the West.
Gervin played in all 82 games, averaging 27.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He led the San Antonio Spurs to the second-best record in the West at 52-30.
1977-78 MVP Race Player G PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 1st Place Votes Total Votes Bill Walton 58 18.9 13.2 5.0 1.0 2.5 52.2% 96 96 George Gervin 82 27.2 5.1 3.7 1.7 1.3 53.6% 80.5 80.5
Despite Gervin winning the scoring title and playing all 82 games, he finished behind Walton in voting. Thompson and Kareem also put together better seasons than Walton, but failed to win the award.
For Walton, this was his first and only MVP award of his career. Gervin, on the other hand, finished his career without an MVP despite being one of the NBA’s best scorers during his time in the league.
6 Shaquille O’Neal (2000-01)
MVP winner: Allen Iverson
The 2000-01 MVP race was headlined by allen iverson, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan. Shaq was coming off of winning his first MVP in 1999-00, the same season he won his first championship. Iverson and Duncan were both looking for their first MVP.
Iverson won the award after winning the scoring title by averaging 31.1 points per game. He also averaged 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game while leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the best record in the Eastern Conference at 56-26.
Shaq also had a dominant season, averaging 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He led the Lakers to a 56-26 record, the second-best in the West behind the Spurs.
2000-01 MVP Race Player G PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3PT% 1st Place Votes Total Votes Allen Iverson 71 31.1 3.8 4.6 2.5 0.3 42.0% 32.0% 93 1,121 Shaquille O’Neal 74 28.7 12.7 3.7 0.6 2.8 57.2% N/A 7 578
Despite a solid season from Shaq, he finished third in MVP voting behind both Iverson and Duncan. Iverson dominated voting, receiving 93 first place votes and 1,121 total votes.
One factor that may have played a part in voting was the fact that Iverson had to be great in order for the Sixers to succeed, while Shaq had Kobe to fall back on. Either way, Shaq put together an incredible season that fell just short of winning his second MVP award.
Despite losing out in the MVP race, Shaq got his revenge in the NBA Finals as the Lakers defeated Iverson and the Sixers in five games, capturing back-to-back titles, with Shaq winning Finals MVP for the second consecutive season.
5 Michael Jordan (1996-97)
MVP winner: Karl Malone
The 1996-97 MVP race featured Karl Malone and Michael Jordan. Malone was looking for his first MVP award while Jordan was looking for his fifth.
Malone ended up winning the award in the second-closest MVP race of all time. He averaged 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He also led the Utah Jazz to a 64-18 record, the best in the Western Conference.
Jordan also put up MVP numbers, averaging 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He led the Bulls to a 69-13 record, the best in the Eastern Conference.
1996-97 MVP Race Player G PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3PT% 1st Place Votes Total Votes Karl Malone 82 27.4 9.9 4.5 1.4 55.0% N/A 63 986 Michael Jordan 82 29.6 5.9 4.3 1.7 48.6% 37.4% 52 957
With both players leading their respective teams to the best record in their conference, they both also put up nearly identical numbers, meaning the MVP race could have gone either way. In the end, it was Malone who won the award, grabbing 11 more first place votes and 29 more total votes than Jordan.
This was Malone’s first of two MVP awards he would win in his career. Jordan, on the other hand, went on to win his fifth MVP award the next season. He also got revenge on Malone and the Jazz in the NBA Finals as the Bulls eliminated the Jazz in six games to win their second consecutive title.
4 Charles Barkley (1989-90)
MVP winner: Magic Johnson
Credit: © RVR Photos-Imagn Images
The 1989-90 MVP race was the closest in NBA history. It featured three legends of the game in Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.
Magic came away with the award after averaging 22.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game. He led the Lakers to a 63-19 record, the best in the Western Conference.
Barkley put together one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 25.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. He led the 76ers to the third-best record in the East at 53-29.
1989-90 MVP Race Player G PPG RPG APG SPG FG% 3PT% 1st Place Votes Total Votes Magic Johnson 79 22.3 6.6 11.5 1.7 48.0% 38.4% 27 636 Charles Barkley 79 25.2 11.5 3.9 1.9 60.0% 21.7% 38 614
Magic narrowly defeated Barkley in voting despite Barkley receiving the most first place votes with 38. It was the only time in NBA history that the player receiving the most first place votes did not win the MVP award. Instead, Magic received 22 more total votes, propelling him to his third and final MVP of his career.
Barkley would go on to win the award in 1992-93, but that does not make up for the fact that he was robbed of one in 1989-90 after receiving more first place votes than Magic.
3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1972-73)
MVP winner: Dave Cowens
The 1972-73 MVP race came down to the wire between Dave Cowens, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Nate