NBA Most Valuable Player Award facts for kids

The NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Since the 2022–23 season, winners receive the Michael Jordan Trophy, named for the five-time MVP often considered the greatest player in NBA history.

Prior to 2021, the winner received the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which was named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until 1963. With the switch to the Michael Jordan Trophy, his name was moved to a new Maurice Podoloff Trophy given to the team with the best regular season record. 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 member of the voting panel 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. As of the 2023–24 season, the current holder of the award is Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets.

Every player who has won this award and deemed eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record six times. He is also the only player to win the award despite his team not making the playoffs in the 1975–76 season. Both Bill Russell and Michael Jordan won the award five times, while Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James won the award four times. Russell and James are the only players to have won the award four times in five seasons. Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Nikola Jokić each won the award three times, while Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo won it twice. Russell, Chamberlain, and Bird are the only players to win the award in three consecutive years. Only two rookies have won the award: Chamberlain (1959–60) and Wes Unseld (1968–69). Seven players who won MVP (combining for eleven total awards) are considered "international players" by the NBA: Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Nash of Canada, Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, Antetokounmpo of Greece, Jokić of Serbia, and Embiid of Cameroon.

Stephen Curry (2015–16) is the only player to have won the award unanimously. Shaquille O'Neal (1999–2000) and LeBron James (2012–13) are the only two players to have fallen one vote shy of a unanimous selection, both receiving 120 of 121 votes. Since the 1975–76 season, only three players have been named MVP for a season in which their team failed to win at least 50 regular season games—Moses Malone (twice, 1978–79 and 1981–82), Russell Westbrook (2016–17) and Nikola Jokić (2021–22).

Effective with the 2023–24 season, when a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and its players' union took effect, players must appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for most regular-season awards and honors, including MVP. To receive credit for a game for purposes of award eligibility, a player must have been credited with at least 20 minutes played. However, two "near misses", in which the player appeared for 15 to 19 minutes, can be included in the 65-game count. Protections also exist for players who suffer season-ending injuries, who are eligible with 62 credited games, and those affected by what the CBA calls "bad faith circumstances".

Winners

Bill Russell (left) won the award five times in his NBA career. Wilt Chamberlain (center) won the award four times in his career.

Bob Pettit was the first player to win multiple MVP awards.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record-setting six times in his career.

Larry Bird was the last player to win the award in three consecutive years.

Hakeem Olajuwon is one of three players to win the NBA MVP and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in the same season.

Derrick Rose became the youngest player to ever win the award at age 22.

LeBron James is a four-time NBA MVP.

Stephen Curry won back-to-back MVP awards in 2014–15 and 2015–16. He is the first unanimous MVP selection in league history.

Giannis Antetokounmpo won back-to-back MVP awards in 2018–19 and 2019–20.

Nikola Jokić won three MVP awards in 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2023–24. He became one of only two players to be selected in the second round of the NBA draft to win the award.

^	Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
	Denotes player whose team won championship that year
Player (#)	Denotes the number of times the player had been named MVP at that time
Team (#)	Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time

Season	Player	Position	Nationality	Team
1955–56	Pettit, BobBob Pettit*	Power forward	United States	St. Louis Hawks
1956–57	Cousy, BobBob Cousy*	Point guard	United States	Boston Celtics
1957–58	Russell, BillBill Russell*	Center	United States	Boston Celtics (2)
1958–59	Pettit, BobBob Pettit* (2)	Power forward	United States	St. Louis Hawks (2)
1959–60	Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain*	Center	United States	Philadelphia Warriors
1960–61	Russell, BillBill Russell* (2)	Center	United States	Boston Celtics (3)
1961–62	Russell, BillBill Russell* (3)	Center	United States	Boston Celtics (4)
1962–63	Russell, BillBill Russell* (4)	Center	United States	Boston Celtics (5)
1963–64	Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson*	Point guard	United States	Cincinnati Royals
1964–65	Russell, BillBill Russell* (5)	Center	United States	Boston Celtics (6)
1965–66	Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain* (2)	Center	United States	Philadelphia 76ers
1966–67	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	United States	Baltimore Bullets
1969–70	Reed, WillisWillis Reed*	Center	United States	New York Knicks
1970–71	Alcindor, LewLew Alcindor*	Center	United States	Milwaukee Bucks
1971–72	Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar* (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* (3)	Center	United States	Milwaukee Bucks (3)
1974–75	McAdoo, BobBob McAdoo*	Center	United States	Buffalo Braves
1975–76	Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar* (4)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers
1976–77	Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar* (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	Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar* (6)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (3)
1980–81	Erving, JuliusJulius Erving*	Small forward	United States	Philadelphia 76ers (4)
1981–82	Malone, MosesMoses Malone* (2)	Center	United States	Houston Rockets (2)
1982–83	Malone, MosesMoses Malone* (3)	Center	United States	Philadelphia 76ers (5)
1983–84	Bird, LarryLarry Bird*	Small forward	United States	Boston Celtics (8)
1984–85	Bird, LarryLarry Bird* (2)	Small forward	United States	Boston Celtics (9)
1985–86	Bird, LarryLarry Bird* (3)	Small forward	United States	Boston Celtics 910 Boston Celtics (10)
1986–87	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson*	Point guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (4)
1987–88	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan*	Shooting guard	United States	Chicago Bulls
1988–89	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson* (2)	Point guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (5)
1989–90	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson* (3)	Point guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (6)
1990–91	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (2)	Shooting guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (2)
1991–92	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (3)	Shooting guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (3)
1992–93	Barkley, CharlesCharles Barkley*	Power forward	United States	Phoenix Suns
1993–94	Olajuwon, HakeemHakeem Olajuwon*	Center	United States	Houston Rockets (3)
1994–95	Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson*	Center	United States	San Antonio Spurs
1995–96	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (4)	Shooting guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (4)
1996–97	Malone, KarlKarl Malone*	Power forward	United States	Utah Jazz
1997–98	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (5)	Shooting guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (5)
1998–99	Malone, KarlKarl Malone* (2)	Power forward	United States	Utah Jazz (2)
1999–00	O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal*	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (7)
2000–01	Iverson, AllenAllen Iverson*	Shooting guard	United States	Philadelphia 76ers (6)
2001–02	Duncan, TimTim Duncan*	Power forward	United States	San Antonio Spurs (2)
2002–03	Duncan, TimTim Duncan* (2)	Power forward	United States	San Antonio Spurs (3)
2003–04	Garnett, KevinKevin Garnett*	Power forward	United States	Minnesota Timberwolves
2004–05	Nash, SteveSteve Nash*	Point guard	Canada	Phoenix Suns (2)
2005–06	Nash, SteveSteve Nash* (2)	Point guard	Canada	Phoenix Suns (3)
2006–07	Nowitzki, DirkDirk Nowitzki*	Power forward	Germany	Dallas Mavericks
2007–08	Bryant, KobeKobe Bryant*	Shooting guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (8)
2008–09	James, LeBronLeBron James^	Small forward	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers
2009–10	James, LeBronLeBron James^ (2)	Small forward	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers (2)
2010–11	Rose, DerrickDerrick Rose^	Point guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (6)
2011–12	James, LeBronLeBron James^ (3)	Small forward	United States	Miami Heat
2012–13	James, LeBronLeBron James^ (4)	Small forward	United States	Miami Heat (2)
2013–14	Durant, KevinKevin Durant^	Small forward	United States	Oklahoma City Thunder
2014–15	Curry, StephenStephen Curry^	Point guard	United States	Golden State Warriors (2)
2015–16	Curry, StephenStephen Curry^ (2)	Point guard	United States	Golden State Warriors (3)
2016–17	Westbrook, RussellRussell Westbrook^	Point guard	United States	Oklahoma City Thunder (2)
2017–18	Harden, JamesJames Harden^	Shooting guard	United States	Houston Rockets (4)
2018–19	Antetokounmpo, GiannisGiannis Antetokounmpo^	Power forward	Greece	Milwaukee Bucks (4)
2019–20	Antetokounmpo, GiannisGiannis Antetokounmpo^ (2)	Power forward	Greece	Milwaukee Bucks (5)
2020–21	Jokić, NikolaNikola Jokić^	Center	Serbia	Denver Nuggets
2021–22	Jokić, NikolaNikola Jokić^ (2)	Center	Serbia	Denver Nuggets (2)
2022–23	Embiid, JoelJoel Embiid^	Center	Cameroon	Philadelphia 76ers (7)
2023–24	Jokić, NikolaNikola Jokić^ (3)	Center	Serbia	Denver Nuggets (3)

Multiple-time winners

Awards	Player	Team(s)	Years
6	Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks (3) / Los Angeles Lakers (3)	1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980
5	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan	Chicago Bulls	1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998
	Russell, BillBill Russell	Boston Celtics	1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965
4	Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors (1) / Philadelphia 76ers (3)	1960, 1966, 1967, 1968
	James, LeBronLeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers (2) / Miami Heat (2)	2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
3	Bird, LarryLarry Bird	Boston Celtics	1984, 1985, 1986
	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	1987, 1989, 1990
	Jokić, NikolaNikola Jokić	Denver Nuggets	2021, 2022, 2024
	Malone, MosesMoses Malone	Houston Rockets (2) / Philadelphia 76ers (1)	1979, 1982, 1983
2	Antetokounmpo, GiannisGiannis Antetokounmpo	Milwaukee Bucks	2019, 2020
	Curry, StephenStephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	2015, 2016
	Duncan, TimTim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	2002, 2003
	Malone, KarlKarl Malone	Utah Jazz	1997, 1999
	Nash, SteveSteve Nash	Phoenix Suns	2005, 2006
	Pettit, BobBob Pettit	St. Louis Hawks	1956, 1959

Teams

See also

In Spanish: MVP de la Temporada de la NBA para niños

• Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA G League Most Valuable Player Award
• NBL (United States) Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA records