5 Oldest MVP winners in NBA history
The Most Valuable Player award in the NBA is the most prestigious honor from the regular season. To win it multiple times, extraordinary consistency has to be shown, and in today's NBA, we could see LeBron James winning a fifth NBA MVP in the upcoming years. James is arguably the most consistent NBA superstar ever, and he just turned 36 years old. If he wins another MVP before the end of his career, he will be the oldest ever to do so. In this list, we will list the five oldest NBA MVPs in league history.
5 oldest NBA players to win the regular-season MVP
Every player to win the award since its inception in 1955 until the 2005-06 NBA has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Dirk Nowitzki won it in the 2006-07 NBA season, and he has not been inducted to the Hall of Fame because he retired a couple of years ago.
The late, great Kobe Bryant won the award in the 2007-08 NBA season, and he was inducted to the Hall of Fame in the 2020 class. From the 2008-09 NBA season, most winners are deserving of Hall-of-Fame recognition once their careers end. Derrick Rose could be the only player not to get inducted to the Hall of Fame out of the MVP winners since 2010.
However, Rose's talent and level before the many injuries he suffered might be enough for him to get in.
The MVP award can elevate a player's career to new heights, even if said player did not win an NBA championship during his journey.
Without further ado, let us start.
#5 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 33 years old
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won a record six NBA MVPs during his legendary career. He also won six NBA championships, two Finals MVPs, and is the all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points.
His last regular-season MVP award came after the 1979-80 NBA season when he was with the LA Lakers and rookie Magic Johnson was running the offense.
Abdul-Jabbar turned 33 years of age during the 1980 NBA Playoffs, just a day after the LA Lakers' first-round win over the Phoenix Suns. The LA Lakers won the 1980 NBA championship.
Kareem averaged 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3.4 blocks per game in that season.
#4 Michael Jordan - 33 years old
Michael Jordan won his fourth NBA MVP award after guiding the Chicago Bulls to a record-breaking 1995-96 NBA regular season. Jordan had turned 33 years old on February 17th, 1996.
He earned the MVP after playing all 82 games for the Bulls and averaging 30.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Eventually, Jordan won the Finals MVP award too, and the Chicago Bulls won their fourth title.
#3 Karl Malone - 33 years old
In the 1996-7 NBA season, Karl Malone won the first of his two NBA Most Valuable Player awards. The Utah Jazz power forward won his first MVP after averaging 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
Malone beat Michael Jordan with 63 first-place votes over MJ's 52. Malone played the 82 regular-season games of the Utah Jazz and led the team to a 64-18 record.
Eventually, the Utah Jazz lost the 1997 NBA Finals against Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
Malone was about to turn 34 years of age on July 24th after winning his first MVP.
#2 Michael Jordan - 35 years old
After losing the MVP in the 1996-97 NBA season to Karl Malone, Michael Jordan won the award in the following year at 35 years of age.
Jordan played the entire regular season with the Bulls (82 games) and led the team to a 60-22 record to lead the Eastern Conference.
He averaged 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
Jordan turned 35 years of age a couple of months before the end of the regular season.
In what became his final season with the Bulls, MJ also won the MVP of the All-Star Game, and led the team to their sixth NBA championship. He won the Finals MVP award a record six times too.
#1 Karl Malone - 35 years old
Malone retook the regular-season MVP honors in 1999, but Jordan was not his rival anymore. In the shortened 1998-99 NBA season, Malone averaged 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.
The Utah Jazz also tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the NBA, with 37 wins and 13 losses.
The season was shortened due to a lockout which was solved when the NBA and the Players' Association worked out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Jazz did not have success in the 1999 postseason, as they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round.
Malone turned 36 years of age just a month after the NBA season ended. Moreover, he was playing in his 14th NBA season.
Also read: NBA Trade Rumors: CJ McCollum acknowledges he'd likely be moved in potential James Harden deal
Guess the Lakers players!
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