Over and Back: Closest MVP races in NBA history

It’s almost MVP time and it looks like we have a tight race between James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard as the season comes to a close. So we decided to look back at the closest MVP votes in NBA history in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast.

Jason Mann and Rich Kraetsch discuss the following MVP finishes: Bill Russell beating Dolph Schayes in 1958, Willis Reed over Jerry West in 1970, George McGinnis and Julius Erving tying for ABA MVP in 1975, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar beating Bob McAdoo and Dave Cowens in 1976, Erving over Larry Bird in 1981, Magic Johnson beating Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan in 1990, Karl Malone topping Jordan in 1997, Malone over Alonzo Mourning and Tim Duncan in 1999, Duncan topping Jason Kidd in 2002, and Steve Nash over Shaquille O’Neal in 2005.

We look at how many MVPs Abdul-Jabbar and Jordan may have deserved in their careers, the differences in player voting years (before 1981) vs. media voting years, which years it seems like voters got it right based on advanced stats, and which years they did not do so well, West finishing second in MVP many times, Reed overshadowing Clyde Frazier again, whether O’Neal should have earned more than MVP, and much more.

Over and Back: Closest MVP races in NBA history

By Jason Mann | Mar 27, 2017

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