When you look at the list of nba mvp winners, you're basically looking at the DNA of basketball history. It’s not just a bunch of names on a trophy—though since 2022, it’s officially called the Michael Jordan Trophy. It is a messy, controversial, and deeply emotional record of who owned the league for 82 games.
People argue about this constantly. Honestly, the MVP debate is probably the only thing NBA fans love more than the actual games. You've got the "best player on the best team" crowd clashing with the "statistical dominance" nerds every single April. And looking back at the history, it’s clear the voters have changed their minds on what "valuable" actually means about a dozen times.
The current king and the international takeover
Let's talk about right now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the latest name added to the list of nba mvp winners, taking home the hardware for the 2024-25 season. He didn't just win; he dominated. Leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a staggering 68-14 record while averaging 32.7 points per game is the kind of stuff you usually only see in video games.
He beat out Nikola Jokić, who was chasing his fourth trophy. Think about that. We are living in an era where an American-born player hasn't won the MVP since James Harden in 2018. It is a total global takeover.
Since 2019, the trophy has traveled to Greece (Giannis Antetokounmpo), Serbia (Nikola Jokić), Cameroon (Joel Embiid), and now Canada (SGA). The days of US dominance in this specific category are, at least for now, in the rearview mirror.
The heavy hitters: Who has the most?
If you want to talk about the real "End Bosses" of the NBA, you start with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He has six. Six! That is a ridiculous number of times to be the best person on the planet at your job. He won them across two different franchises—the Bucks and the Lakers—proving that he was the system, no matter where he played.
Right behind him are the legends we always compare. Bill Russell and Michael Jordan both have five. It’s kinda wild to think Jordan "only" has five when you consider how he loomed over the 90s like a shadow, but voter fatigue is a very real thing.
Then you have the four-timers. LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain.
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LeBron’s peak was so long and so sustained that he won four in a five-year span. Wilt, on the other hand, was out there putting up numbers that look like typos. In 1962, he averaged 50 points a game and didn't win MVP. Bill Russell did. That tells you everything you need to know about how much the players (who used to vote on this) valued winning over raw stats.
Why the 1980s changed everything
Before 1980, the players themselves voted for the MVP. It was a peer-review system. But in 1981, the league handed the power to the media—sportswriters and broadcasters.
The first winner under this new regime? Julius Erving.
The 80s were basically a three-way tug of war between Dr. J, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. Larry Bird did something that hasn't been done since: he won three in a row from 1984 to 1986. Not even Jordan, LeBron, or Jokić managed to pull off the three-peat.
Voters usually get bored. They start looking for reasons not to give it to the same guy. But Bird was so undeniable in the mid-80s that they had no choice. Magic then took the torch, winning three of his own as the "Showtime" Lakers defined the end of the decade.
The list of nba mvp winners: Year by year
To really see the flow of the league, you have to see the names in order. It’s like a timeline of how the game evolved from a big-man’s sport to a shooter’s paradise.
In the early days, it was all centers. Bob Pettit won the first one in 1956. Then came the era of the giants. From 1956 to 1980, a center won the award every single year except for three: Bob Cousy (1957), Oscar Robertson (1964), and Julius Erving (1981, if you count the media era start).
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Then things shifted. The 90s gave us the era of the dominant wing, led by Jordan. The 2000s were a mix of "Big Fundamentals" like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, and the "ISO Kings" like Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant.
Then came the revolution. Stephen Curry in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, he became the first and only unanimous MVP in history. He broke the game of basketball so thoroughly that all 131 voters couldn't find a single reason to pick anyone else.
The last few years have seen the rise of the "Point Center." Nikola Jokić won in 2021, 2022, and 2024. He plays like a 7-foot quarterback. It's a style of play that didn't exist when Kareem was sky-hooking his way to six trophies.
Forgotten MVPs and "What Ifs"
Not every MVP is remembered with the same reverence.
Take Wes Unseld in 1969. He’s one of only two players to win MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season (Wilt was the other). He wasn't a scoring machine; he was a brick wall who threw the best outlet passes the league had ever seen.
Or Dave Cowens in 1973. A lot of people forget he beat out Kareem that year.
And then there's the Derrick Rose year in 2011. At 22 years old, he became the youngest MVP ever. It was a lightning-strike season that changed the trajectory of the Chicago Bulls, even if injuries sadly robbed us of seeing his full prime.
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What it takes to win now
Winning the MVP in 2026 isn't just about points. You've gotta have the "narrative."
The voters look for a few specific things:
- Availability: You basically have to play at least 65 games now. The league's new rules are strict about this. No 65 games? No trophy.
- Seeding: Usually, you need to be on a top-three team in your conference. Russell Westbrook (2017) and Nikola Jokić (2022) are the rare exceptions who won while their teams were lower seeds.
- The "Moment": Think of SGA this past year. It wasn't just the stats; it was the fact that he took the youngest team in the league to the #1 seed. That is a narrative that's hard to beat.
If you're looking at the list of nba mvp winners and wondering who's next, keep an eye on the young stars who are starting to carry the weight of their franchises. Victor Wembanyama is looming. Anthony Edwards is knocking on the door. Luka Dončić has been a bridesmaid for what feels like forever.
Real world impact of the MVP
Being on this list changes a player's life. It's the difference between being a "very good player" and a "Hall of Famer." Every single MVP winner in history who is eligible for the Hall of Fame has been inducted.
It also triggers massive "supermax" contract extensions. When a player like SGA wins, it doesn't just mean a trophy on the mantle; it means hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed salary because of the "Rose Rule" and other contract incentives.
For the fans, the list is a roadmap. It tells the story of the 1960s Celtics, the 1980s Lakers-Celtics rivalry, the 1990s Bulls, and the modern-day positionless era.
If you want to keep up with how the MVP race is shaping up for next season, your best bet is to track the "Advanced Stats" like PER and Win Shares, but never ignore the win-loss column. At the end of the day, the NBA is still a league about winning, and the MVP award is the ultimate proof of that.
To stay ahead of the curve, start watching the betting odds around December. That's usually when the media narrative starts to harden, and you can see which way the wind is blowing for the next name on that historic list.