The Closest NBA MVP Races

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, on May 21st, was announced as the MVP of the 2024-2025 NBA season. This win was notable not just because of his stellar play, but because of how close the contest was between him and Nikola Jokic. The NBA is blessed with an immense amount of talent that keeps the yearly MVP discussions filled with headlines and questions about who will win the trophy. Let’s look at the stories of some of the closest MVP contests we’ve ever seen, and if anybody was potentially snubbed along the way. 

Tim Duncan vs Jason Kidd, 2001-2002

This is the contest that makes you reflect on how much the league has changed in terms of offensive production. This extremely tight race saw Jason Kidd lose out to back-to-back winner Tim Duncan. Kidd put up 14.7 points per game, nine assists, and seven rebounds. That stat line is one of someone that many say was an MVP snub, makes 2002 feel way longer ago than it should, but I digress. Tim Duncan, coming fresh off an MVP season the year prior, put up 25.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, and two blocks. This isn’t much different from his first MVP season, although he did put up three more points than the year prior. The stat line alone would speak volumes, but Kidd’s impact all around the court cannot be denied. He put that Nets team on his back with 52 wins and a finals appearance. The Spurs won more games with 58 total wins, but many would question the value of the two players within their teams. The Spurs may have had more pure talent, but removing Duncan would be unquestionably disastrous, and enough to have likely tanked the Spurs. The argument for most value is there for kids, but a Duncan win certainly wasn’t outrageous.

Steve Nash vs Kobe Bryant, 2005-2006

In another showcase of the stat sheet not matching our modern-day perceptions of what an MVP might look like, playmaking point guard Steve Nash still receives flack for his win over Kobe Bryant in 2006. Nash, who averaged 18.8 points per game, wasn’t even the leading scorer on his team as Shawn Marion averaged 21.8 points per game. Nash, very similar to Jason Kidd, added a lot more to the team in terms of playmaking and general effort than what meets the eye on a stat sheet, but was it worth it over Kobe? Kobe put up 35.4 points per game and was an all-defensive first-team selection, showcasing effort on both sides of the court. The Suns were objectively the much more successful regular season team with 54 wins, but Kobe carried a very rough group of players that consisted of Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, and Devean George, who were some of his top help. That roster is one of the worst ever crafted, and Kobe had 45 wins and a playoff appearance with them. Russell Westbrook set the blueprint when he carried a very underwhelming roster in 2017 to the playoffs in the leadup to his MVP win. There’s no doubt that Kobe would have won the award today, given trends towards more individual play when determining the award, but he, without question, deserved it in 2006 as well. The Suns were not special enough as a team that season to grant Nash the award on team performance and record. 

Russell Westbrook vs James Harden, 2016-2017

Let’s finish things off with a race that was mentioned in the previous paragraph. This race was the ultimate tight race due to both players having amazing stat sheets with vastly different team records. James Harden had a pretty low scoring output by his standards with only 22.8 points per game. Harden’s main skill was setting his teammates up to be in the right spot with elite court vision, and drawing double teams from the defense that would leave shooters stranded or big men with mismatches. The Rockets won 55 games and were in third place in the Western Conference, but it is important to note that they had a much better team than Westbrook’s Thunder. Russell Westbrook was dealing with the fallout of not having Kevin Durant anymore and led a rag-tag group of guys to the sixth seed in the playoffs. This season was Westbrook’s historic triple-double season, which saw him outperform Harden in nearly every statistic. This race was highly debated at the time and served as redemption for Kobe’s loss in 2006 by allowing the player with the less mediocre team to win just off the player's performance. That Thunder team would’ve been one of the worst in the league if not for Westbrook. There is no doubt in my mind that Westbrook deserved this MVP, and that the award doesn’t need to be solely based on team performance.