A king making pinnacle of individual achievement in the NBA, the winners read like a who’s-who of all-time greats; has also had its share of controversy and contentiousness
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Mostly valuable: 17 greatest players who never earned NBA league MVP
Whether they were stuck on non-contenders, unlucky to go up against bigger legends, or simply robbed of the award, these are the 17 greatest players to never win the NBA MVP award.
Hollow trophies: 14 early playoff exits by reigning league MVPs
The reigning MVP has led their team to the NBA or ABA championship 26 times in the history of the two leagues. But in these 15 examples, the ultimate regular season honor was sullied by subsequent postseason disappointment. Can Nikola Jokic avoid a similar fate in 2021?
Fraudulent voting: 20 controversial NBA league MVP decisions
As is bound to be the case whenever humans are making objective decisions based on subjective criteria, the NBA MVP winners have not always made sense in retrospect. Sometimes, they don’t even make sense as they’re being awarded. These are the 20 most notable cases.
Always a bridesmaid: 15 players who have finished second in NBA MVP voting but never won
Some of the greatest players in NBA history have been denied winning the MVP trophy, and many of them finished as close as possible without being first.