30 of the 70 MVP Awards given out in NBA history have gone to centers, including a stretch of 16 consecutive years from 1965-80.

Season	Player	Pos
1955-56	Bob Pettit	PF
1956-57	Bob Cousy	PG
1957-58	Bill Russell	C
1958-59	Bob Pettit	PF
1959-60	Wilt Chamberlain	C
1960-61	Bill Russell	C
1961-62	Bill Russell	C
1962-63	Bill Russell	C
1963-64	Oscar Robertson	PG
1964-65	Bill Russell	C
1965-66	Wilt Chamberlain	C
1966-67	Wilt Chamberlain	C
1967-68	Wilt Chamberlain	C
1968-69	Wes Unseld	C
1969-70	Willis Reed	C
1970-71	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	C
1971-72	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	C
1972-73	Dave Cowens	C
1973-74	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	C
1974-75	Bob McAdoo	C
1975-76	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	C
1976-77	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	C
1977-78	Bill Walton	C
1978-79	Moses Malone	C
1979-80	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	C
1980-81	Julius Erving	SF
1981-82	Moses Malone	C
1982-83	Moses Malone	C
1983-84	Larry Bird	SF
1984-85	Larry Bird	SF
1985-86	Larry Bird	SF
1986-87	Magic Johnson	PG
1987-88	Michael Jordan	SG
1988-89	Magic Johnson	PG
1989-90	Magic Johnson	PG
1990-91	Michael Jordan	SG
1991-92	Michael Jordan	SG
1992-93	Charles Barkley	PF
1993-94	Hakeem Olajuwon	C
1994-95	David Robinson	C
1995-96	Michael Jordan	SG
1996-97	Karl Malone	PF
1997-98	Michael Jordan	SG
1998-99	Karl Malone	PF
1999-00	Shaquille O’Neal	C
2000-01	Allen Iverson	SG
2001-02	Tim Duncan	PF
2002-03	Tim Duncan	PF
2003-04	Kevin Garnett	PF
2004-05	Steve Nash	PG
2005-06	Steve Nash	PG
2006-07	Dirk Nowitzki	PF
2007-08	Kobe Bryant	SG
2008-09	LeBron James	SF
2009-10	LeBron James	SF
2010-11	Derrick Rose	PG
2011-12	LeBron James	SF
2012-13	LeBron James	SF
2013-14	Kevin Durant	SF
2014-15	Stephen Curry	PG
2015-16	Stephen Curry	PG
2016-17	Russell Westbrook	PG
2017-18	James Harden	SG
2018-19	Giannis Antetokounmpo	PF
2019-20	Giannis Antetokounmpo	PF
2020-21	Nikola Jokić	C
2021-22	Nikola Jokić	C
2022-23	Joel Embiid	C
2023-24	Nikola Jokić	C
2024-25	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	PG

Unlucky-Rich-4387 | Nuggets

52 | 4 hours ago

Makes sense. Talented 7 footers are generally going to be the most impactful players on the court.

TyposIncoming | Lakers

27 | 4 hours ago

Yeah as it turns out in a sport where the goal is 10 feet in the air, tall people have a real advantage

SeizureMode | Pistons

2 | 3 hours ago

Big if true

Sniffy4 | South Sudan

2 | 2 hours ago

huge if big.

RampageOfZebras | Heat

26 | 4 hours ago

Wilt had 4, Russell had 5, Kareem had 6 thats ¹⁵⁄₃₀ Center MVPs in 3 players.

Primetime22 | NBA

22 | 4 hours ago

The 20 year dry spell of centers not winning MVP again after Shaq’s near unanimous 2000 season will be studied for years. It’s the starkest evidence of how much the game changed after the 90s.

Sniffy4 | South Sudan

5 | 2 hours ago

Tim Duncan was kind of a center.

RelevantJackWhite | Trail Blazers

9 | 4 hours ago

Centers have historically been more impactful on the outcome of games. The game has shifted towards guards. 2001-2020 has no centers at all winning it

Impossible-Group8553

9 | 4 hours ago

I wouldn’t say guards, just non-centers. There were 11 MVPs that play the ³⁄₄ and 9 MVPs that play the ¹⁄₂

MahomesMccaffrey | Slovenia

7 | 4 hours ago

Basketball is a big men’s game after all.

The biggest men have the most advantage, especially before the 3 point revolutions.

Even during MJ’s prime teams still look for centers to build around

rwoteit | Vancouver Grizzlies

4 | 3 hours ago

One of the craziest things that young people overlook is that Mike changed conventional wisdom of what your team and best player could look like. There’s really 3 eras of NBA history premerger, BM and AJ.

Slightly related I find it funny how adamant y’all are about Curry changing the game but that is one of the 1st things I hear disregarded when oldheads say it and used to make fun.

HokageEzio | Knicks

3 | 4 hours ago

For the first 40ish years of league history the philosphy was you pretty much can’t win without a dominant, HoF level big man. Everybody was very center biased until around the 80s.

Infinite-Machine-210

6 | 3 hours ago

i mean they didnt pull it out of their ass, when a 90 footer is worth the same as a layup the taller guy is better

ThrowRa-zucchinizzc

3 | 3 hours ago

23 of first 28 (82%) MVP went to center. 7 of the next 42 (17%).

HellenicHedge34 | Bucks

2 | 4 hours ago

You cant teach height.

CutLonzosHair2017 | LAL

2 | 3 hours ago

You can’t teach height.

FaceWithAName | Bulls

0 | 2 hours ago

1 in 5 chance it will be a center.

HuntsmetalslimesVIII | Timberwolves

-1 | 2 hours ago

KG should have two MVP’s, he was just as good as Duncan and in my opinion he was better