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NBA Most Valuable Player Award winners

  • Kevin DurantKevin Durant wore number 35 to honor his murdered youth coach. Charles Craig was 35 when he died.
  • LeBron JamesLeBron James led Cleveland back from a 3-1 Finals deficit, a first in NBA history. It ended a 52-year title wait.
  • Dirk NowitzkiDirk Nowitzki hit a winning Finals basket while carrying a 101-degree fever.
  • Kobe BryantKobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006, the second-highest NBA game total ever.
  • Karl MaloneKarl Malone played 193 playoff games without winning a championship. That is more than any player without a ring.
  • Tim DuncanTim Duncan was a swimmer until a hurricane destroyed his island's only Olympic-sized pool.
  • Stephen CurryVirginia Tech offered Stephen Curry only a walk-on spot. He later became the NBA's all-time three-point leader.
  • Joel EmbiidJoel Embiid scored 70 points against the Spurs on January 22, 2024, breaking a 76ers record from 1967.
  • Larry BirdLarry Bird asked who would finish second at the first Three-Point Shootout, then won it.
  • Hakeem OlajuwonHakeem Olajuwon did not touch a basketball until he was 15. The Nigerian goalkeeper later won an NBA title.
  • Bill RussellBill Russell won eleven NBA championships in thirteen seasons. No team has matched that record since.
  • Michael JordanMichael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity team as a sophomore for being too short.
  • Charles BarkleyCharles Barkley became the shortest player ever to lead the NBA in rebounding.
  • Magic JohnsonMagic Johnson told the world he had HIV from the free throw line in 1991. He was 32 and a five-time NBA champion.
  • Moses MaloneMoses Malone predicted his 76ers would sweep the playoffs, and they went 12-1.
  • Nikola JokićNikola Jokić's 2014 NBA draft pick appeared on a news ticker under a Taco Bell ad. He went 41st overall.
  • Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal twice broke steel backboard supports with his dunks. The NBA then redesigned its equipment.
  • Dave CowensDave Cowens won 1973 NBA MVP at six feet nine, short for a center. He beat out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the award.
  • Wilt ChamberlainNo camera filmed Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in one game. Only a radio broadcast of the fourth quarter survived.
  • Giannis AntetokounmpoGiannis Antetokounmpo could not leave Greece for his first 18 years. He had no papers from Greece or Nigeria.
  • Bob CousyBob Cousy broke his right hand falling out of a tree, and it helped make him ambidextrous.
  • Steve NashIn grade eight, Steve Nash told his mother he would become an NBA star.
  • Kareem Abdul-JabbarKareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain's career scoring record with a skyhook over a 7-foot-4 defender.
  • Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderShai Gilgeous-Alexander was drafted by Charlotte and traded the same night. He never played a game for the Hornets.
  • Julius ErvingA judge ordered Julius Erving back to the Virginia Squires after he had signed with Atlanta.

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