Who Got the Most MVPs in the NBA?
We take a look at the players who have won the most MVPs in the NBA, and what made them so special.
Michael Jordan- 6
Michael Jordan is one of the most decorated basketball players of all time. He has six MVP awards to his name, as well as multiple Finals MVPs and Defensive Player of the Year awards. He is widely considered to be the greatest player of all time, and his legacy extends far beyond the basketball court.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and he also happens to have the most MVPs in league history. The big man won the award six times during his 20-year career, which is three more than any other player in NBA history.
LeBron James- 4
LeBron James has won 4 MVPs in his NBA career, the most recent one coming in 2018. He is a 3-time NBA champion and 14-time All-Star.
Bill Russell- 5
Boston Celtic center Bill Russell was the first player to receive the NBA MVP award five times. He did it in back-to-back seasons (1961 and 1962) and then three straight seasons (1963-1965). He remains the only player to have won the award five times in his career.
Magic Johnson- 3
Ervin “Magic” Johnson is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 13 seasons. After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play 32 games for the Lakers during the 1992–93 season. He became a two-time MVP of the NBA Finals, winning consecutive awards in 1987 and 1988.
After winning a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Johnson joined Michael Jordan and Larry Bird as one of three players to win an NCAA title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, and was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.
Johnson’s career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and Second Team nominations. He led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBA’s all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2. Johnson was a member of threespent his entire career with , eam that included Karl Malone and John Stockton; he is widely considered to be one of the best point guards of all time.