Top 10 NBA MVPs of ALL TIME

the mvp it's the peak of individual accomplishment and represents the best player in a given season today we're going to talk about the 10 greatest mbp seasons of all time make sure to subscribe to ms hoops and let's get it started at number 10 we have the big ticket kevin garnett and his incredible 2004 season this season garnett put up an absolute gaudy stat line with the career best scoring output of 24.2 points per game on 49.9 percent shooting from the field along with a league leading 13.9 rebounds per game an impressive 5.0 assist per game for a big man showing off his playmaking acumen and an impressive 1.5 steals and 2.2 blocks per game for his efforts he also achieved an all defensive first team selection establishing himself as one of the league's best on the other end of the floor as well his well-rounded individual production was incredible but not even the best part of his mvp season the most impressive thing he accomplished this year was taking a timberwolves franchise that had never even sniffed an ounce of success before and whose second best player was a 34 year old sam cassell to a western conference leading 58 wins a historically great season on every front now moving on to number nine we have kevin durant and his 2014 mvp campaign because of what followed a couple years later this mvp season is often forgotten and has become extremely underrated which is disappointing because of how truly special this was whenever someone says that katie needs superstars around him to win this season can be pointed out as the main counter example to disprove that statement aside from kd and russ the 2014 thunder roster wasn't very good this is why when russ went down with an injury and missed half the year that season most people just wrote the team off to miss the playoff but off the greatness of durant this year the thunder didn't only make the playoffs but katy carried them to an incredible 59 and 23 record nearly winning 60 games without his coaster for this season he put up a career high and league leading 32 points per game while shooting 50.3 percent from the field 39.1 from three and 87.3 from the free throw line essentially scoring the most points in the league on 50 40 90 splits while facing the entire defense's attention every single night and still leading his team to 60 wins this was one of the greatest mvp runs ever and should be mentioned more at number eight we have hakeem the dream elijah won in 1994. during mj's first retirement there was a massive void left at the top of the league and hakeem was the one to grab that spot this dominant season especially established him as the best player in the league this season he displayed his mastery of the craft utilizing all his best moves including the patented dream shake to rack up an elite 27.3 points 11.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 52.8 shooting from the field as great as his offensive production was though his biggest strengths came on the other end putting up an insane 3.7 blocks per game and 1.6 steals per game there's a reason hakeem has an argument for the greatest room protector ever and this season he also won the defensive player of the year award establishing himself as the best defender in the league winning the mvp and defensive player of the year the two biggest regular season awards in the same year is an unfathomable feat and has only been done three times ever for a reason the fact that this year hakeem accomplished this feat is all you need to hear to justify his spa on the list at number 7 we have magic johnson in 1987 this year was the peak of the showtime lakers and by this point magic was the clear best player and captain of the team leading them to an insane 65 and 17 record magic was the engine and heart of this team we all know about the mythic status of his playmaking ability and this year was one of his best averaging a league leading 12.2 assists per game everything ran through him and he executed it all to perfection aside from the success he led his team to and his play-making skills what makes the season stand out compared to his others is his career best scoring output averaging a career-high 23.9 points per game on 52.2 shooting from the field and 84.8 from the line not only was the scoring production amazing for his standards but the efficiency makes a borderline elite that combined with his all-time play making and leadership make this clearly magic's best season in my opinion and easily won the greatest ever now at six we have giannis onto the kumpo in 2020 this is the most recent season on the list yet it's still one that isn't talked about much anymore has become underrated likely due to what occurred in the playoffs afterwards that year but this list is only about the regular season so that doesn't apply to our ranking giannis took his season from the year before in which he also won mvp and improved upon it in every aspect this year saw him reached shack levels of pain domination allowing him to put up a career-high 29.5 points per game on 55.3 from the field on top of the elite scoring production he also added in 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game showcasing how well-rounded his game was with elite play-making ability from a 7-footer this all-time stat production was not the only reason he won mvp he also led his team to a record of 56 and 17. this is because the season was shortened due to the pandemic so if you adjust the record for 82 games you get a record of 63 and 19 which still undermines how dominant giannis made the bucks that year as a cherry on top of this already historic season remember how i said hakeem had one of the three seasons in nba history to win mvp and the defensive player of the year award in the same season well this season from giannis is the second one on that list i don't think i have to say any more to justify giannis spot on this list at number 5 we now have 1985 larry bird bird had a run of winning three mvps in a row and i think his middle one was the best this season was peak bird before the injuries and showed off all his greatest strengths as you would expect from larry this season he had elite scoring production reaching one of the higher marks of his career with 28.7 points per game on 52.2 shooting from the field 42.7 from 3 and 88.2 from the line he essentially had 50 40 90 splits on near 30 points per game showing off his elite efficiency and scoring ability from all over the court on top of this he also added in 10.5 rebounds 6.6 assists 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game showing off his elite and underrated all-around game with his impressive play-making and his great defensive abilities he did all this while leading the celtics to an impressive 63-19 record there's no flaws in this campaign and represents one of the most well-rounded and complete seasons of all time you'd expect nothing less from larry legend now in number four we have the big diesel shaquille o'neal in 2000. he was significantly stronger and bigger than everyone else but still moved around like no one his size should be able to throughout this historic campaign shaq produced a league leading 29.7 points per game on a league leading 57.4 stream from the field no one could stop him from getting in the paint and when he did it was almost a guaranteed bucket every single time on top of his scoring production he also threw in 13.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game throughout his career shaq was often criticized for being a lazy defender but that could not be said about him in 2000 as he was also elite on that end of the floor earning a second team all defense selection all this on the court and statistical dominance also directly led to team success as well as his dominant performances led the lakers that year to a ridiculous 67 and 15 record shaq was the most dominant force of all time and this season was his peak now moving on to number three we have steph curry and his historic 2016 unanimous mvp season this was the season he really started showing off how limitless his range was consistently hitting ridiculous shots from insane distances that made people question what was truly possible he made the most threes ever in a season hitting over 400 which was significantly more than second place all time which also just happened to be himself all these threes resulted in him winning the scoring title that year with 30.1 points per game his volume of threes and points were insane but when you look at his efficiency on that volume it's even more ridiculous he shot fifty point four percent from the field forty five point four percent from three and a league leading ninety point eight percent from the line forget fifty forty ninety this man shot fifty forty five ninety on over thirty points per game from this insane threat of this shot he also generated an insane amount of attention and gravity that left his teammates open factoring this along with his elite passing skills not only was his shooting and scoring on another planet but so was his playmaking ability this combination of insane shooting scoring volume efficiency and play making makes this season in my opinion the greatest offensive season in the history of the sport everything i mentioned just now from an individual production perspective alone makes the season one of the 10 greatest ever but there's one small detail i haven't mentioned yet that puts this season over the top and into the upper echelon that is 73 wins this season curry's performance not only generated individual success but also directly led to a historical and unprecedented amount of team success by breaking the all-time wins record and achieving a record of 73 and 9. saying that out loud still doesn't feel real single digit losses for an entire season and curry was the biggest contributor to that level of success the unanimous mvp was earned and it'll take something otherworldly to top it which is exactly what we have at number two with lebron james in 2013. this was peak athletic lebron he was over 275 pounds of pure muscle and strength and combined that with unparalleled speed and jumping ability he had the ability to go full speed all game every game and combine this unreal athleticism with a refined skill set and jumper this season he put up a respectable 26.8 points per game but what he really stands out is his efficiency he shot an instant 56.5 from the field that's a really good percentage for a center who only stays in the paint lebron is one of the greatest paint finishers of all time but when you consider the fact that he was a wing who was regularly shooting jumpers and worked on the perimeter this field goal percentage is literally unfathomable speaking of jumpers this season was his best three-point shooting season as he shot 40.6 from distance he also put up eight rebounds seven point three assists 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks per game helping demonstrate his status as an elite playmaker and defender speaking of defense this was his best defensive season as his unique combination of strength and speed allowed him to legitimately guard one through five making him arguably the most versatile defender ever not only did he earn first team all defense honors but he also finished second in defensive play of the year race and likely should have won the award outright regardless of whether he did or didn't win that award what can't be argued is that this is one of and in my opinion the most complete season ever lebron did everything at an elite level from scoring shooting finishing efficiency playmaking and defense there isn't a single hole in this game that you can point out aside from his all-around elite individual production he also helped lead the heat that year 10 elite 66 and 16 record including a historic 27 game win streak there's not much more i can say the season was nearly perfection and earns this spot on the list and at number one we have to go himself michael jordan and his 1996 season early on in his career mj was an athletic freak the likes of which we've never seen but as his career progressed and his athleticism began to wane he started refining his post and mid-range game and the 96th season was in my opinion jordan's peak we had the perfect blend of both he still had the unreal athleticism to move faster and jump higher than everyone else and go full speed all game while also possessing an elite mid-range and post game this led him to averaging a league leading 30.4 points per game on 49.5 shooting from the field and 83.4 from the line we all know about his all-time scoring ability and efficiency within the three-point line but what also made the season even more special was the fact that it was his best shooting season from outside three point stripe as well which was often considered one of his only weaknesses this year he shot an efficient 42.7 from three this season he also averaged 2.2 steals per game and was selected for the first defensive team as usual in combination with his all-time scoring he was also the best perimeter defender in the league and one of the best defenders period overall this gold level individual talon along with the all-time record at the time 72 wins that he led the bulls to puts a mythic status around this season that simply can't be touched and earns it the number one spot on my list so there you have it those were the 10 greatest mvp seasons of all time in my opinion comment down below if you agree and feel free to drop your list down in the comments below

Channel: MS Hoops

Views: 888

Keywords: NBA, MVP, Lebron, Lebron James, Steph Curry, Curry, Jordan, Michael Jordan, NBA Greatest, Greatest NBA, Shaq, Bird, Larry, Larry Bird, Giannis, Antetokounmpo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James, Hakeem, Olajuwon, Magic, Magic Johnson, GOAT, NBA GOAT, NBA MVP, Garnett, KG, Kevin Garnett, Durant, KD, Kevin Durant

Id: tJAsL5jSj6U

Length: 15min 37sec (937 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 11 2022