who has won the most mvp in nba history
NBA Most Valuable Player Award Every player who has won this award and has been eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record six times.[3] Both Bill Russell and Michael Jordan won the award five times,[4] while Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James won the award four times. Russell and James are the only players to have won the award four times in five seasons.[5] Moses Malone, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson each won the award three times, while Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and Stephen Curry have each won it twice.[4] Only two rookies have won the award: Wilt Chamberlain in the 1959–60 season and Wes Unseld in the 1968–69 season.[6] Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria,[b] Tim Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands,[c] Steve Nash of Canada[d] and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany are the only MVP winners considered "international players" by the NBA.[9]
Michael Jordan Jordan again led the league in scoring during the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting[18] and won his first league MVP Award. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Year, as he had averaged 1.6 blocks and a league high 3.16 steals per game.[35] The Bulls finished 50–32,[30] and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.[36] However, the Bulls then lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons,[29] who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys".[37]
LeBron James In February of the 2007–08 season, James was named All-Star Game MVP for the second time behind a 27-point, 8-rebound, and 9-assist performance.[57][58] On March 21, he moved past Brad Daugherty as the Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer in a game against the Raptors, doing so in over 100 less games than Daugherty.[59] His 30 points per game were also the highest in the league, representing his first scoring title.[60] Despite his individual accomplishments, Cleveland's record fell from the year before to 45–37.[61] Seeded fourth in the East entering the playoffs, the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards in the first round for the third consecutive season before being eliminated in seven games by the eventual-champion Boston Celtics in the next round.[62] During the decisive seventh game in Boston, James scored 45 points and Paul Pierce scored 41 in a game the Associated Press described as a "shootout".[63]
NBA playoffs The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference (called divisions, pre-1970), ultimately deciding the league's season champion in the NBA Finals.