NBA 2023: The race for NBA MVP Award
Find out who is the favourite to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award 2023, when it will be announced and other key facts about the prestigious end-of-season honour.
Basketball
The 2023 NBA regular season may be drawing to a close but the battle for the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is reaching its crescendo.
The annual award, handed out since the 1955-56 regular season to the best-performing player, is one of the most prestigious a basketball player can receive.
Up until the 1979-80 season the award was chosen by NBA players. Since then, sportswriters and broadcasters have been handed the task of determining the winner with a global panel of 100 individuals and one fan vote determines who should receive the award.
Each member gets five votes (first to fifth place), with each place awarded different points. The NBA player with the greatest number of points from the voters takes home the top prize.
No criteria for awarding the MVP has ever officially been disclosed meaning how voters arrive at their choice holds with it, an air of mystery. Factors such as consistency, statistical dominance, leadership qualities, impact on the team’s performance and standout moments are all thought to contribute to final decisions.
In the history of the NBA, there is no strict deadline for announcing NBA MVP.
Typically, June has been the chosen month to reveal the winner while last year it was announced on 9 May. In any case, many expect that by the end of June this year, the 2023 NBA MVP will have been announced.
As well as taking home the bragging rights, this year’s most valuable player will be the first to take home the new Michael Jordan Trophy. The award was redesigned and renamed after the Chicago Bulls’ legend in December last year.
As of the 2021-22 season, Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is currently the reigning two-time NBA MVP. The Serbian first won the award in 2021, before winning it again a year later in 2022.
Who has won the most NBA MVP awards?
The legendary Kareem Abudul-Jabbar currently holds the honour of owning the most NBA MVP awards with six trophies to his name.
Abdul-Jabbar won three while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks (1971, 1972, 1974) and a further three while representing the Los Angeles Lakers (1976, 1977, 1980).
Two players have won the award five times: Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan.
Three players have won the award three consecutive times: Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Russell.
Who are the NBA MVP candidates for 2023?
If the 2022-23 NBA MVP race has felt tighter than usual, then it’s because the conversation around who is leading and who should be considered has shifted a lot with a handful of names circulating the debate.
Few would deny that Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is a key figure.
Currently, the reigning back-to-back winner of the award (2020-21, 2021-22) Jokic is once more dominating the league. The 28-year-old Serb is leading the league in triple-doubles by some distance and has guided the Nuggets to the No.1 spot in the Western Conference standings with the third-best record in the NBA.
But he is far from alone in the hunt.
If voter fatigue wasn’t already enough for ‘The Joker’ to face, then Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid’s form might just complicate Jokic’s claim for a third MVP crown. The 29-year-old Cameroonian currently leads the league in points scored with 33.3 points per game and on the ‘eye test’ - watching and judging talent with simply your eyes – it's hard to deny Embiid has been critical to the 76ers' regular season success.
Giannis Antetokoummpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum are the other top names being considered for the 2023 NBA MVP.
Of those three Antetokounmpo has the best odds.
A key pillar in the Bucks said that sits atop the Eastern Conference standings it’s hard to look past the Greek when it comes to notable players in the NBA.
As well as helping his side own the record for longest-winning regular season win-streak this year (16) previous two-time winner Antetokoumpo is also among the best scorers and most dominant in defensive rebounds underlining his ability to work both ends of the court, which is something widely regarded when it comes to picking an MVP.
Who is the youngest person to win NBA MVP?
Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) and Wes Unseld (Baltimore Bullets) share the accolade of being the youngest players ever to win the NBA MVP award both having won the prize at 22 years old.
Has a defensive player ever won NBA MVP?
Five players in the history of the league have won both the NBA MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY): Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Kevin Garnett and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Of that list, two claimed both prizes in the same season.
Jordan achieved the feat with the Chicago Bulls in 1988 while Olajuwon did it with the Houston Rockets in 1994.
How many NBA MVPs have been unanimous?
Steph Curry is the only player in the history of the NBA to win the MVP award unanimously.
The Golden State Warriors man received all first-place votes in the 2015-2016 season when he won his second straight MVP award.
Has there ever been a rookie NBA MVP?
Wilt Chamberlain (1959-1960) and Wes Unseld (1968-1969) are the only rookies to ever have been awarded the NBA MVP award.