Every year, a ballot is cast by fans of the NBA to vote for who they think has been the best player over the season, with the winner named the MVP.
It has previously been selected by a vote from NBA players themselves, and then sportswriters and broadcasters.
Here, we have looked into every player to win the MVP award more than once.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 6
Kareem was a big point scorer, rebounder and blocker, piecing together three big assets to be a dominant force in the NBA for years, and winning the MVP award on a record six occasions as a result.
He was the league scoring leader in his first two MVP seasons, and registered the most blocks in three more of them – he’d likely done so in previous seasons, but blocks were only recorded properly from 1973-74, his fifth season in the league.
Kareem scored 38,387 points in his career, which was the record in the league until 2023, when LeBron overtook him. Over 14,000 of Kareem’s career points came within his six MVP seasons.
Bill Russell – 5
Russell, a center at almost seven feet, was a dominant rebounder and defender.
He led the league in rebounds for two of his five MVP seasons, with 22.7 per game and 24.1 per game, while also scoring over 14 points per game in both of those.
Russell won eight NBA Championships in a row between 1959 and 1966, and won four of his MVPs in those years, with his his performances and leadership helping the team immensely.
Michael Jordan – 5
One of the best NBA players in history, Jordan was the scoring leader in seven seasons in a row prior to the switch to play baseball. He then returned and won the scoring title in three more seasons.
He was the leading point-scorer in the NBA in each of his five MVP seasons, and was obviously deserving of the award.
In 1987-88, Jordan played the most minutes of any player in the league, scored the most points, and also had the most steals in the league, with 3.2.
His ability to win back possession, as well as score huge points, were big reasons for his consistent MVP titles.
LeBron James – 4
One of, if not the best player to ever play in the NBA, LeBron James‘s longevity has seen him consistently score 25 to 30 points per game into his late 30s and now 40s, but his best years came in his 20s.
A Cleveland Cavalier for the first seven years of his career, LeBron was named MVP in his final two seasons there.
Playing largely as a small forward, LeBron knocked on the door of 30 points per game, scoring 28.7 in his first MVP season and 29.7 in his second. He had more than seven assists and seven rebounds in both of those seasons.
He then moved to the Miami Heat, and in his second and third seasons there he won back-to-back MVPs again.
A clear focus on mid-range shots saw LeBron make the most two-pointers in both of his MVP seasons with the Heat, as he again scored around 27 points in both seasons, the second coming as a power forward.
He has twice come second in MVP voting since, in seasons back in Cleveland, and then with the LA Lakers.
Wilt Chamberlain – 4
A seven-footer who scored over 30 points per game and rebounded almost 23 times per game across his entire career, Chamberlain was one of the best dual-threat players the league has ever seen.
The best of his four MVP seasons in terms of scoring saw him rack up 37.6 points. He had seasons in which he outscored that by far but did not win the MVP.
In his first MVP season, Chamberlain had 27 total rebounds per game, leading the league in both points per game and rebounds, as he did in his second MVP season.
In fact, in all of Chamberlain’s MVP seasons, he finished as the leader in the NBA for total rebounds.
Moses Malone – 3
Malone was a king in keeping his teams in possession, winning the most total rebounds in each of his three MVP seasons.
The most came in his first season, when he grabbed 1444 boards, and also registered 2031 points.
Malone had over 2500 points in his second MVP season, and in his third, he clearly spent a lot of time in the paint, grabbing the most rebounds and also shooting the most free throws that season. For a big man, his .761 free-throw percentage is a decent one.
Magic Johnson – 3
Johnson is seen as one of the greatest point guards ever, with essentially 20 points and 12 assists per season over the course of his career.
In his first MVP season, he had just under 24 points per game and led the league with 12.2 assists.
In his second MVP season, in which he had 22.5 points per game and 12.8 assists, he had the best free-throw percentage in the league, with .911.
In his final MVP season, Johnson again had over 22 points per game – and 11.5 assists.
Larry Bird – 3
Bird’s three MVP seasons came in a row, from 1983-84 to 1985-86. He had the highest free-throw percentage in the league for the first and last of those, and scored a lot of points through all three seasons.
Each one was above 24 points per game, with Bird’s best, his second MVP season, seeing him score 28.7 points per game, while he also had 10.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists.
Nikola Jokic – 3
Jokic, a center for the Denver Nuggets, has essentially played as a big point guard in recent years.
In each of his three MVP-winning seasons, he has averaged over 24 points, 7.5 assists and 10.5 rebounds.
His dominance not only in his position but across all positions has got him one of the best contracts in the league.
Six players – 2
Retired players such as Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan were all named the MVP twice.
Current players Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo have also both won the award twice, both coming in back-to-back years, with Curry winning it during a period of dominance for the Golden State Warriors in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Antetokounmpo then won it in 2018-19 and 2019-20 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
