NBA Most Valuable Player Award facts for kids

The NBA Most Valuable Player Award (often called MVP) is a super important award given out every year in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It goes to the player who performs the very best during the regular season. This award has been given out since the 1955–56 season.

Since the 2022–23 season, the winner gets a special trophy called the Michael Jordan Trophy. It's named after Michael Jordan, who won the MVP award five times and is often thought of as the greatest basketball player ever! Before 2021, the trophy was named after Maurice Podoloff, the NBA's first boss.

How the MVP is Chosen

The MVP award used to be chosen by NBA players themselves until the 1979–80 season. But since the 1980–81 season, a group of sports writers and broadcasters from all over the United States and Canada decide who wins.

Each person on the voting team picks their top five players. Their first-place choice gets 10 points. Second place gets 7 points, third place gets 5 points, fourth place gets 3 points, and fifth place gets 1 point. Since 2010, fans can also vote online, and their votes count as one ballot. The player with the most points wins the awesome award! As of the 2023–24 season, Nikola Jokić from the Denver Nuggets is the current MVP.

To be considered for the MVP award starting from the 2023–24 season, a player usually has to play in at least 65 games. Also, they need to play for at least 20 minutes in most of those games. There are a few exceptions for players who get seriously injured.

Amazing MVP Winners

Every player who has won this award and is old enough has been put into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This means they are recognized as some of the best players in basketball history!

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won the MVP award a record six times. That's more than anyone else! He's also the only player to win it even when his team didn't make it to the playoffs, which happened in the 1975–76 season.

Bill Russell and Michael Jordan both won the award five times. Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James each won it four times. Russell and James are the only players to win the award four times in just five seasons.

Some other amazing players who won the award three times include Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Nikola Jokić. Players like Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have won it twice.

Only three players have won the award three years in a row: Russell, Chamberlain, and Bird. And only two rookies (first-year players) have ever won the MVP: Chamberlain (1959–60) and Wes Unseld (1968–69).

Many international players have won the MVP award too! These include Hakeem Olajuwon (from Nigeria), Duncan (from the U.S. Virgin Islands), Nash (from Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (from Germany), Antetokounmpo (from Greece), Jokić (from Serbia), and Embiid (from Cameroon).

Stephen Curry (2015–16) is the only player to ever win the award with every single vote. This is called a "unanimous" win. Shaquille O'Neal (1999–2000) and LeBron James (2012–13) almost did it too, missing by just one vote!

Since the 1975–76 season, only a few players have won the MVP when their team didn't win at least 50 games in the regular season. These players are Moses Malone (twice, 1978–79 and 1981–82), Russell Westbrook (2016–17), and Nikola Jokić (2021–22).

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.

^	This means the player is still playing in the NBA.
*	This player is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
	This player's team won the NBA championship in the same year they won MVP.
Player (#)	Shows how many times the player had won MVP by that point.
Team (#)	Shows how many times a player from this team had won MVP by that point.

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 (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)

Players with Multiple MVP Awards

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 with MVP Winners

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