Stephen Curry earned back-to-back MVP honors in 2015 and 2016.
EZRA SHAW / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
In the world of basketball, no individual award carries more prestige than the Most Valuable Player. Each season, the NBA’s top player claims what is now called the Michael Jordan Trophy. Which players have accumulated the most MVP titles in league history? Here’s a complete look.
The first NBA Most Valuable Player was named during the 1955–56 season, designed to recognize the league’s best performer that year. That tradition has taken root and continues to this day.
A total of 36 players have won the MVP award at least once, ranging from the inaugural winner Bob Pettit to the most recent recipient, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. No player has won more than the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was named MVP six times—an all-time record.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar receives his third NBA MVP award from Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy.
ČTK / AP / Anonymous
While American-born players have dominated the award since its inception, every MVP winner since 2019 has been an international player. Only one player in history has been a unanimous MVP selection: Steph Curry, during the Golden State Warriors’ historic 2015–16 season. However, Shaquille O’Neal (in 2000) and LeBron James (in 2013) came within a single vote of earning that unanimous honor.
Until 1980, the players themselves voted for the MVP. Since then, journalists and basketball experts from around the world (though most still reside in the United States) have cast the ballots. This has sparked ongoing debate around what remains the most prestigious individual award in global basketball.
**Complete List of NBA MVPs**
– **1956**: Bob Pettit (St. Louis Hawks) – 25.7 PPG, 16.2 RPG, 2.6 APG – 33/80 first-place votes
– **1957**: Bob Cousy (Boston Celtics) – 20.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 7.5 APG – 23/80 first-place votes
– **1958**: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) – 16.6 PPG, 2.9 APG, 22.7 RPG – 33/80 first-place votes
– **1959**: Bob Pettit (St. Louis Hawks) – 29.2 PPG, 16.4 RPG, 3.1 APG – 59/80 first-place votes
– **1960**: Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) – 37.6 PPG, 27.0 RPG, 2.3 APG – 49/80 first-place votes
– **1961**: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) – 16.9 PPG, 23.9 RPG, 3.4 APG – 35/80 first-place votes
– **1962**: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) – 18.9 PPG, 23.6 RPG, 4.5 APG – 51/80 first-place votes
– **1963**: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) – 16.8 PPG, 23.6 RPG, 4.5 APG – 56/101 first-place votes
– **1964**: Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati Royals) – 31.4 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 11.0 APG – 60/96 first-place votes
– **1965**: Bill Russell (Boston Celtics) – 14.1 PPG, 24.1 RPG, 5.3 APG – 53/99 first-place votes
– **1966**: Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia 76ers) – 33.5 PPG, 24.6 RPG, 5.2 APG – 48/99 first-place votes*
– **1967**: Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia 76ers) – 24.1 PPG, 24.2 RPG, 7.8 APG – 80/105 first-place votes*
– **1968**: Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia 76ers) – 24.3 PPG, 23.8 RPG, 8.6 APG – 88/139 first-place votes*
– **1969**: Wes Unseld (Baltimore Bullets) – 13.8 PPG, 18.2 RPG, 2.6 APG – 53/103 first-place votes*
– **1970**: Willis Reed (New York Knicks) – 21.7 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 2.0 APG – 61/155 first-place votes
– **1971**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee Bucks) – 31.7 PPG, 16.0 RPG, 3.3 APG – 133/156 first-place votes*
– **1972**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee Bucks) – 34.8 PPG, 16.6 RPG, 4.6 APG – 81/180 first-place votes
– **1973**: Dave Cowens (Boston Celtics) – 20.5 PPG, 16.2 RPG, 4.1 APG – 67/175 first-place votes
– **1974**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee Bucks) – 27.0 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 4.8 APG – 74/181 first-place votes
– **1975**: Bob McAdoo (Buffalo Braves) – 34.5 PPG, 14.1 RPG, 2.2 APG – 70/181 first-place votes
– **1976**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) – 27.7 PPG, 16.9 RPG, 5.0 APG – 73/180 first-place votes
– **1977**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) – 26.2 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 3.9 APG – 70/180 first-place votes
– **1978**: Bill Walton (Portland Trail Blazers) – 18.9 PPG, 13.2 RPG, 5.0 APG – 57/77 first-place votes
– **1979**: Moses Malone (Houston Rockets) – 24.8 PPG, 17.6 RPG, 1.8 APG – 59/96 first-place votes
– **1980**: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) – 24.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 4.5 APG – 62/96 first-place votes