NBA Most Valuable player award - wikipedia NBA Most Valuable player award This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 1 July 2018. hide National Basketball Association awards and honors Championship O'Brien Trophy Brown Trophy ( defunct ) Individual awards All - Star Game MVP Bill Russell Finals MVP Coach of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Executive of the Year J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Community Assist Award Most Improved Player Most Valuable Player Rookie of the Year Sixth Man of the Year Sportsmanship Award Twyman -- Stokes Teammate of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award Honors All - NBA Team All - Rookie Team All - Defensive Team The National Basketball Association 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. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner ( then president ) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until 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 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 June 2018, the current holder of the award is James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Every player who has won this award and has been eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted. Kareem Abdul - Jabbar won the award a record six times. 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 and Magic Johnson each won the award three times, while Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and Stephen Curry have each won it twice. Only two rookies have won the award : Wilt Chamberlain in the 1959 -- 60 season and Wes Unseld in the 1968 -- 69 season. Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, Tim Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Steve Nash of Canada and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany are the only MVP winners considered `` international players '' by the NBA. Stephen Curry in 2015 -- 16 is the only player to have won the award unanimously. 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. Russell Westbrook, is the first to have played for a team that failed to win at least 50 regular - season games since the 1982 -- 83 season. Every player to have won the award has made at least one appearance as a player in the NBA Finals, with the exceptions of Steve Nash and Derrick Rose. Contents 1 Winners 2 Multi-time winners 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References Winners Bill Russell ( left ) won the award five times in his NBA career. Wilt Chamberlain ( center ) won the award four times in his 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 won back - to - back MVP awards and was the first unanimous winner in the ' 15 - 16 season. James Harden is the reigning MVP. 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 ( X ) Denotes the number of times the player had been named MVP at that time Team ( X ) Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time Season Player Position Nationality Team 1955 -- 56 Bob Pettit * Power forward United States St. Louis Hawks 1956 -- 57 Bob Cousy * Point guard United States Boston Celtics 1957 -- 58 Bill Russell * Center United States Boston Celtics ( 2 ) 1958 -- 59 Bob Pettit * ( 2 ) Power forward United States St. Louis Hawks ( 2 ) 1959 -- 60 Wilt Chamberlain * Center United States Philadelphia Warriors 1960 -- 61 Bill Russell * ( 2 ) Center United States Boston Celtics ( 3 ) 1961 -- 62 Bill Russell * ( 3 ) Center United States Boston Celtics ( 4 ) 1962 -- 63 Bill Russell * ( 4 ) Center United States Boston Celtics ( 5 ) 1963 -- 64 Oscar Robertson * Point guard United States Cincinnati Royals 1964 -- 65 Bill Russell * ( 5 ) Center United States Boston Celtics ( 6 ) 1965 -- 66 Wilt Chamberlain * ( 2 ) Center United States Philadelphia 76ers 1966 -- 67 Wilt Chamberlain * ( 3 ) Center United States Philadelphia 76ers ( 2 ) 1967 -- 68 Wilt Chamberlain * ( 4 ) Center United States Philadelphia 76ers ( 3 ) 1968 -- 69 Wes Unseld * Center / Forward United States Baltimore Bullets 1969 -- 70 Willis Reed * Center United States New York Knicks 1970 -- 71 Aaa Lew Alcindor * Center United States Milwaukee Bucks 1971 -- 72 Kareem Abdul - Jabbar * ( 2 ) Center United States Milwaukee Bucks ( 2 ) 1972 -- 73 Dave Cowens * Center United States Boston Celtics ( 7 ) 1973 -- 74 Kareem Abdul - Jabbar * ( 3 ) Center United States Milwaukee Bucks ( 3 ) 1974 -- 75 Bob McAdoo * Power forward United States Buffalo Braves 1975 -- 76 Kareem Abdul - Jabbar * ( 4 ) Center United States Los Angeles Lakers 1976 -- 77 Kareem Abdul - Jabbar * ( 5 ) Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 2 ) 1977 -- 78 Bill Walton * Center United States Portland Trail Blazers 1978 -- 79 Moses Malone * Center United States Houston Rockets 1979 -- 80 Kareem Abdul - Jabbar * ( 6 ) Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 3 ) 1980 -- 81 Julius Erving * Small forward United States Philadelphia 76ers ( 4 ) 1981 -- 82 Moses Malone * ( 2 ) Center United States Houston Rockets ( 2 ) 1982 -- 83 Moses Malone * ( 3 ) Center United States Philadelphia 76ers ( 5 ) 1983 -- 84 Larry Bird * Small forward United States Boston Celtics ( 8 ) 1984 -- 85 Larry Bird * ( 2 ) Small forward United States Boston Celtics ( 9 ) 1985 -- 86 Larry Bird * ( 3 ) Small forward United States Boston Celtics ( 10 ) 1986 -- 87 Magic Johnson * Point guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 4 ) 1987 -- 88 Michael Jordan * Shooting guard United States Chicago Bulls 1988 -- 89 Magic Johnson * ( 2 ) Point guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 5 ) 1989 -- 90 Magic Johnson * ( 3 ) Point guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 6 ) 1990 -- 91 Michael Jordan * ( 2 ) Shooting guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 2 ) 1991 -- 92 Michael Jordan * ( 3 ) Shooting guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 3 ) 1992 -- 93 Charles Barkley * Power forward United States Phoenix Suns 1993 -- 94 Hakeem Olajuwon * Center Nigeria Houston Rockets ( 3 ) 1994 -- 95 David Robinson * Center United States San Antonio Spurs 1995 -- 96 Michael Jordan * ( 4 ) Shooting guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 4 ) 1996 -- 97 Karl Malone * Power forward United States Utah Jazz 1997 -- 98 Michael Jordan * ( 5 ) Shooting guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 5 ) 1998 -- 99 Karl Malone * ( 2 ) Power forward United States Utah Jazz ( 2 ) 1999 -- 00 Shaquille O'Neal * Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 7 ) 2000 -- 01 Allen Iverson * Shooting guard United States Philadelphia 76ers ( 6 ) 2001 -- 02 Tim Duncan Power forward United States San Antonio Spurs ( 2 ) 2002 -- 03 Tim Duncan ( 2 ) Power forward United States San Antonio Spurs ( 3 ) 2003 -- 04 Kevin Garnett Power forward United States Minnesota Timberwolves 2004 -- 05 Steve Nash * Point guard Canada Phoenix Suns ( 2 ) 2005 -- 06 Steve Nash * ( 2 ) Point guard Canada Phoenix Suns ( 3 ) 2006 -- 07 Dirk Nowitzki ^ Power forward Germany Dallas Mavericks 2007 -- 08 Kobe Bryant Shooting guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 8 ) 2008 -- 09 LeBron James ^ Small forward United States Cleveland Cavaliers 2009 -- 10 LeBron James ^ ( 2 ) Small forward United States Cleveland Cavaliers ( 2 ) 2010 -- 11 Derrick Rose ^ Point guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 6 ) 2011 -- 12 LeBron James ^ ( 3 ) Small forward United States Miami Heat 2012 -- 13 LeBron James ^ ( 4 ) Small forward United States Miami Heat ( 2 ) 2013 -- 14 Kevin Durant ^ Small forward United States Oklahoma City Thunder 2014 -- 15 Stephen Curry ^ Point guard United States Golden State Warriors ( 2 ) 2015 -- 16 Stephen Curry ^ ( 2 ) Point guard United States Golden State Warriors ( 3 ) 2016 -- 17 Russell Westbrook ^ Point guard United States Oklahoma City Thunder ( 2 ) 2017 -- 18 James Harden ^ Shooting guard United States Houston Rockets ( 4 ) Multi-time winners Rank Player Team ( s ) Awards Years Kareem Abdul - Jabbar Milwaukee Bucks ( 3 ) / Los Angeles Lakers ( 3 ) 6 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980 Bill Russell Boston Celtics 5 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998 Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia Warriors ( 1 ) / Philadelphia 76ers ( 3 ) 1960, 1966, 1967, 1968 LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers ( 2 ) / Miami Heat ( 2 ) 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 6 Moses Malone Houston Rockets ( 2 ) / Philadelphia 76ers ( 1 ) 1979, 1982, 1983 Larry Bird Boston Celtics 1984, 1985, 1986 Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers 1987, 1989, 1990 9 Bob Pettit St. Louis Hawks 1956, 1959 Karl Malone Utah Jazz 1997, 1999 Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 2002, 2003 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 2005, 2006 Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors 2015, 2016 See also National Basketball Association portal Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award NBA All - Star Game Most Valuable Player Award NBA Development League Most Valuable Player Award NOTES Jump up ^ The official title of the position was President until 1967 when it was changed to Commissioner. ^ Jump up to : 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. ^ Jump up to : Although Duncan was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands and is a United States citizen, the NBA considers him an international player. ^ Jump up to : Steve Nash, who was born in South Africa, was raised in Canada. Jump up ^ Allen Iverson received the only other first - place vote in 2000, while Carmelo Anthony received the only other first - place vote in 2013. Jump up ^ 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. ^ Jump up to : Before the 1971 -- 72 season, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul - Jabbar. Jump up ^ Malone, at 35 years and 284 days old at the end of the regular season, is the oldest MVP in NBA history. Jump up ^ Rose, at 22 years and 191 days old at the end of the regular season, is the youngest MVP in NBA history. References General `` Most Valuable Player ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2008. `` Most Valuable Player Award Winners ''. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 7, 2008. `` NBA MVP -- Maurice Podoloff Trophy -- Marc Mellon Sculpture Studio ''. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2002. Specific Jump up ^ Monroe, Mike. `` The Commissioners ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 8, 2008. Jump up ^ `` LeBron receives 116 first - place votes ''. ESPN.com. May 2, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Kareem Abdul - Jabbar ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` Most Valuable Player ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2008. ^ Jump up to : Wallace, Michael ( May 5, 2013 ). `` LeBron James wins 4th MVP award ''. ESPN.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Wes Unseld ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Hakeem Olajuwon Bio : 1992 - 93 ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Virgin Islands ''. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved August 12, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` NBA Players from around the world : 2005 - 2006 Season ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2011. Jump up ^ McPeek, Jeramie. `` The Canadian Kid ''. NBA.com ( from Fastbreak Magazine of Sept. / Oct. 1996 ). Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved April 22, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Who is the leading MVP candidate ? ''. ESPN.com. March 6, 2015. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Jump up ^ Hubbard, Jan ( April 22, 1990 ). `` NBA NOTES : Charles Barkley Running a Slick Campaign for MVP ''. Newsday. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Stephen Curry wins MVP for second straight season ''. ESPN.com. May 11, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Kareem Abdul - Jabbar Bio ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved August 4, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Karl Malone 1998 - 99 game log ''. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Derrick Rose 2010 - 11 game log ''. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2016. NBA Most Valuable Player Award 1956 : Pettit 1957 : Cousy 1958 : Russell 1959 : Pettit 1960 : Chamberlain 1961 : Russell 1962 : Russell 1963 : Russell 1964 : Robertson 1965 : Russell 1966 : Chamberlain 1967 : Chamberlain 1968 : Chamberlain 1969 : Unseld 1970 : Reed 1971 : Alcindor 1972 : Abdul - Jabbar 1973 : Cowens 1974 : Abdul - Jabbar 1975 : McAdoo 1976 : Abdul - Jabbar 1977 : Abdul - Jabbar 1978 : Walton 1979 : M. Malone 1980 : Abdul - Jabbar 1981 : Erving 1982 : M. Malone 1983 : M. Malone 1984 : Bird 1985 : Bird 1986 : Bird 1987 : Johnson 1988 : Jordan 1989 : Johnson 1990 : Johnson 1991 : Jordan 1992 : Jordan 1993 : Barkley 1994 : Olajuwon 1995 : Robinson 1996 : Jordan 1997 : K. Malone 1998 : Jordan 1999 : K. Malone 2000 : O'Neal 2001 : Iverson 2002 : Duncan 2003 : Duncan 2004 : Garnett 2005 : Nash 2006 : Nash 2007 : Nowitzki 2008 : Bryant 2009 : James 2010 : James 2011 : Rose 2012 : James 2013 : James 2014 : Durant 2015 : Curry 2016 : Curry 2017 : Westbrook 2018 : Harden Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NBA_Most_Valuable_Player_Award&oldid=848378137 '' Categories : National Basketball Association awards National Basketball Association lists Awards established in 1956 Most valuable player awards 1956 establishments in the United States Hidden categories : Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism Articles containing potentially dated statements from June 2018 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles with hCards Featured lists Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Sicilianu Slovenščina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 27 more Edit links This page was last edited on 1 July 2018, at 15 : 20 ( UTC ). 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Question: who won the first mvp in the nba
Answer: Bob Pettit