NBA MVP Top ____

A couple years ago, while playing around with leaderboards of NBA players who received MVP votes, I noticed something interesting. I'll include the lists below, and perhaps it will stand out to you, too. If it doesn't, no worries, I'll point it out.

To start — and I think this is pretty interesting on its own — I'll list the top ten players for each of the following: most NBA MVP Awards, most top-two finishes, most top-three finishes, most top-five finishes, most top-ten finishes, most years receiving votes, most years receiving first-place votes, and most MVP points (using the formula presented here). Some people consider this trivia, but if you care about greatest-of-all-time arguments, and figuring out who the best players actually are, MVP votes are one of the most concrete ways of recording what people thought at the time, and that is not trivial.

These totals are NBA-only: they don't include the ABA or other pro leagues. All totals are through the 2024-25 season (Thunder def. Pacers).

Most Wins

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 6
t2. Bill Russell, 5
t2. Michael Jordan, 5
t4. LeBron James, 4
t4. Wilt Chamberlain, 4
t6. Larry Bird, 3
t6. Magic Johnson, 3
t6. Nikola Jokic, 3
t6. Moses Malone, 3
t10: Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Bob Pettit, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Steve Nash (2 each)

Most Top-Two

t1. LeBron James, 8
t1. Michael Jordan, 8
t3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 7
t3. Bill Russell, 7
t3. Larry Bird, 7
6. Wilt Chamberlain, 6
t7. Magic Johnson, 5
t7. Nikola Jokic, 5
t8. Tim Duncan, 4
t8. Bob Pettit, 4
t8. Jerry West, 4
t8. Kevin Durant, 4
t8. James Harden, 4

Most Top-Three

1. LeBron James, 11
2. Michael Jordan, 10
t3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 9
t3. Bill Russell, 9
t3. Magic Johnson, 9
6. Larry Bird, 8
7. Wilt Chamberlain, 7
t8. Karl Malone, 5
t8. Kobe Bryant, 5
t8. Shaquille O'Neal, 5
t8. Tim Duncan, 5
t8. Bob Pettit, 5
t8. Oscar Robertson, 5
t8. Jerry West, 5
t8. David Robinson, 5
t8. James Harden, 5
t8. Nikola Jokic, 5

Most Top-Five