The NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Since the 2022–23 season, winners receive the Michael Jordan Trophy, named after the five-time MVP. A total of 36 players have won the award.
Prior to 2021, the winner received the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which was named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until 1963. With the switch to the Michael Jordan Trophy, his name was moved to a new Maurice Podoloff Trophy given to the team with the best regular season record.
Until the , the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since the , the award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Each member of the voting panel casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. Each first-place vote is worth 10 points; each second-place vote is worth seven; each third-place vote is worth five, fourth-place is worth three and fifth-place is worth one. Starting from 2010, one ballot was cast by fans through online voting. The player with the highest point total wins the award. As of the , the current holder of the award is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Every player who has won this award and deemed eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record six times. He is also the only player to win the award despite his team not making the playoffs, in the . Both Bill Russell and Michael Jordan won the award five times, 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. Eight players who won MVP (combining for thirteen total awards) are considered "international players" by the NBA: Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Nash of Canada, Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, Antetokounmpo of Greece, Nikola Jokić of Serbia, Joel Embiid of Cameroon|group=lower-alpha
As part of efforts to reduce load management for star players in the league, effective with the 2023–24 season, when a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and its players' union took effect, players must appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for most regular-season awards and honors, including MVP. To receive credit for a game for purposes of award eligibility, a player must have been credited with at least 20 minutes played. However, two "near misses", in which the player appeared for 15 to 19 minutes, can be included in the 65-game count. Protections also exist for players who suffer season-ending injuries, who are eligible with 62 credited games, and those affected by what the CBA calls "bad faith circumstances".
Winners
thumb|[[Bill Russell (left) won the award five times in his NBA career. Wilt Chamberlain (center) won the award four times in his career.]]
thumb|upright|[[Bob Pettit was the first player to win multiple MVP awards.]]
thumb|[[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record-setting six times in his career.]]
thumb|upright|[[Larry Bird was the last player to win the award in three consecutive years.]]
thumb|upright|[[Hakeem Olajuwon is one of three players to win the NBA MVP and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in the same season.]]
thumb|240x240px|[[Michael Jordan won the NBA MVP five times.]]
thumb|upright|[[Derrick Rose became the youngest player to ever win the award at age 22.]]
thumb|upright|[[LeBron James is a four-time NBA MVP.]]
thumb|upright|[[Stephen Curry won back-to-back MVP awards in 2014–15 and 2015–16. He is the first unanimous MVP selection in league history.]]
thumb|upright|[[Giannis Antetokounmpo won back-to-back MVP awards in 2018–19 and 2019–20.]]
thumb|upright|[[Nikola Jokić won three MVP awards in 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2023–24. He became one of only two players to be selected in the second round of the NBA draft to win the award.]]
thumb|upright|[[Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won back-to-back MVP awards in 2024-25 and 2025-26. In the 2024-25 season he became the first player since LeBron James in 2012-13 to win MVP, Finals MVP, and the NBA Finals in the same season.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
| style="background-color:#CFECEC; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:6em"| ^
|Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
|-
| style="background-color:#FFFF99; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:6em"| *
|Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
|-
|style="background:#CCFF99; width:1em"|†
|Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration
|-
| style="background-color:#FFE6BD; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:6em"| ‡
|Denotes player whose team won championship that year
|-
|Player (#)
|Denotes the number of times the player had been named MVP at that time
|-
|Team (#)
|Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" summary="Season (sortable), Player (sortable), Position (sortable), Nationality (sortable) and Team (sortable)"
|-
!scope="col"| Season
!scope="col"| Player
!scope="col"| Position
!scope="col"| Nationality
!scope="col"| Team
|- <!-- Please DO NOT add winner until there is an official announcement. -->
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Power forward
|
| St. Louis Hawks
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Point guard
|
| Boston Celtics
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Center
|
| Boston Celtics (2)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (2)
| Power forward
|
| St. Louis Hawks (2)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Center
|
| Philadelphia Warriors
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (2)
| Center
|
| Boston Celtics (3)
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (3)
| Center
|
| Boston Celtics (4)
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (4)
| Center
|
| Boston Celtics (5)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Point guard
|
| Cincinnati Royals
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (5)
| Center
|
| Boston Celtics (6)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (2)
| Center
|
| Philadelphia 76ers
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (3)
| Center
|
| Philadelphia 76ers (2)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| * (4)
| Center
|
| Philadelphia 76ers (3)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Center
|
| Baltimore Bullets
|-
|!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Center
|
| New York Knicks
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Center
|
| Milwaukee Bucks
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *|group=lower-alpha
| Power forward
|
| Utah Jazz (2)
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Center
|
| Los Angeles Lakers (7)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Shooting guard
|
| Philadelphia 76ers (6)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Power forward
| |group=lower-alpha
| Point guard
|
| Chicago Bulls (6)
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^ (3)
| Small forward
|
| Miami Heat
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^ (4)
| Small forward
|
| Miami Heat (2)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^
| Small forward
|
| Oklahoma City Thunder
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFE6BD"| ‡
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^
| Point guard
|
| Golden State Warriors (2)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^ (2)
| Point guard
|
| Golden State Warriors (3)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^
| Point guard
|
| Oklahoma City Thunder (2)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^
| Shooting guard
|
| Houston Rockets (4)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^
| Power forward
|
| Milwaukee Bucks (4)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^ (2)
| Power forward
|
| Milwaukee Bucks (5)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^
| Center
|
| Denver Nuggets
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^ (2)
| Center
|
| Denver Nuggets (2)
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC"| ^
| Center
|