With NBA MVP night approaching, the league’s historical record is still held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with six awards—while three finalists could reshape the “next to catch up” picture. Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander face different
The NBA’s Most Valuable Player award is down to three finalists. but the stakes run deeper than this season’s trophy.. Sunday’s MVP announcement arrives with a familiar tension: one player is on the verge of joining the back-to-back club. another could move into a tie at four awards. and a third is chasing his first nomination at the top of the league.
Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander make up this year’s finalists.. If Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins, it would be his second consecutive MVP victory.. The Canadian guard was awarded the top prize ahead of the Thunder’s run to the NBA Finals last season.. If Jokić wins. it would be his fourth MVP award. a number that would tie him with LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain in the Most Valuable standings.. Wembanyama, meanwhile, is facing the moment with what the league recordbook calls his first nomination.
The broader record still belongs to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.. He has the most MVP awards in NBA history with a total of six, collected in 1971, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1977, and 1980.. Three of those prizes came during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks. and three of them during his stint with the Lakers.. Across his 20 seasons in the league, Abdul-Jabbar finished in the top five in MVP voting 15 times.
Behind Abdul-Jabbar are two players tied at five MVP awards apiece: Bill Russell and Michael Jordan.. Jordan won in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998, with most of those coming during the Bulls’ unstoppable championship run.. Russell proved victorious in 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1965.. In those five MVP seasons, Russell also won a title in all five years.
LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain each hold four MVP awards. James won in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013, with both the Cavaliers and the Heat. Chamberlain won in 1960, 1966, 1967, and 1968.
A list of players with two or more MVP awards puts those names alongside the current wave of winners:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 6 (1971. 1972. 1974. 1976. 1977. 1980)
Michael Jordan: 5 (1988. 1991. 1992. 1996. 1998)
Bill Russell: 5 (1958. 1961. 1962. 1963. 1965)
LeBron James: 4 (2009. 2010. 2012. 2013)
Wilt Chamberlain: 4 (1960. 1966. 1967. 1968)
Nikola Jokić: 3 (2021. 2022. 2024)
Magic Johnson: 3 (1987. 1989. 1990)
Larry Bird: 3 (1984. 1985. 1986)
Moses Malone: 3 (1979. 1982. 1983)
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 2 (2019. 2020)
Stephen Curry: 2 (2015. 2016)
Steve Nash: 2 (2005. 2006)
Tim Duncan: 2 (2002. 2003)
Karl Malone: 2 (1997. 1999)
Bob Pettit: 2 (1956. 1959)
The countdown is already set. The MVP announcement is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, and the “who can join the list” question is now attached to a second, immediate storyline: back-to-back MVP wins.
The pattern is clear from the history laid out here—players who stack MVP seasons tend to do it in consecutive years that land them in the elite group of repeat winners.. Nikola Jokić is already listed as the most recent back-to-back winner in 2021 and 2022. and the current finalists keep the chase moving: the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can add another consecutive MVP if he wins again. while the international run continues toward an eighth straight season.
There have been 13 different guys who have pulled off the back-to-back victory, with the most recent being Jokić in 2021 and 2022.. Before that, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019, 2020), Steph Curry (2015, 2016), LeBron James (2012, 2013, and 2009, 2010), and Steve Nash (2006, 2007).. Earlier still. Tim Duncan did it in 2002 and 2003. Michael Jordan in 1991 and 1992. Magic Johnson in 1990 and 1989. Larry Bird in 1984. 1985. and 1986. and Moses Malone in 1982 and 1983.. Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1976 and 1977. as well as 1971 and 1972; Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1966. 1967 and 1968; and Bill Russell did it in 1961. 1962 and 1963.
Even as the MVP vote lands on a single player. the league’s recent shape is still reflected in who wins.. No matter who wins the MVP award this year. it will be the eighth consecutive season in which the prize is given to a player born outside the U.S.. That international dominance first began in 2019 and 2020. when Antetokounmpo—also known as the “Greek Freak”—took the award in consecutive seasons.. Jokić, of Serbian descent, followed in 2021 and 2022, before the 76ers’ Cameroon-born Joel Embiid won in 2023.. Jokić then won again in 2024, before the Canadian-bred SGA in 2025.
With the decision set for 7:30 p.m. ET, the recordbook’s two threads—who can repeat and who can climb—are converging at once: Jokić is positioned for a fourth MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander is positioned for a second straight, and Wembanyama is chasing a first shot at the league’s top individual honor.
NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Nikola Jokić Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Victor Wembanyama LeBron James Wilt Chamberlain back-to-back MVP international MVP winners