Greatness is often defined by championships in the NBA. Besides a title, an MVP award may be the most important accolade a player can win. But there are plenty of legends of the game who have never won the award.
Some have come close but lost to an even better player. Some were unfairly snubbed. Some were hurt by being on a bad team. Some just couldn't stay healthy to produce MVP-worthy regular seasons. Regardless of their reasons for not winning, this list includes a ton of all-time greats. Let's take a look.
In terms of peak, few players reach the levels T-Mac has reached. Between 2000 and 2005, McGrady was one of the best players in the league, mentioned in the same breath as Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett. Unfortunately, he had a very unlucky career, wasted on bad teams and cut short by injuries.
Postseason success always eluded T-Mac, but his regular-season production is undeniable. Despite having multiple MVP-worthy seasons, including leading the league in scoring in back-to-back years, McGrady never finished above fourth in MVP voting.
Tatum still has a chance to lift the Michael Jordan Trophy at some point in his career, but after the Achilles tear, it will be an uphill battle. Tatum already has four top-six finishes in MVP voting, and has been a regular on the All-NBA First Team throughout his nine-year career.
At age 28, Tatum is already one of the most decorated players not to win MVP. He has 127 playoff games under his belt, a championship, five All-NBA selections, and counting.
Like a lot of players on this list, Pierce is hurt by playing on mediocre teams in his prime. Until Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen arrived in Boston, Pierce and the Celtics had won three playoff series in nine seasons. This led to him never being a true MVP candidate and not finishing above seventh in voting.
He made ten All-Star teams, four All-NBA teams, and won a Finals MVP, which he would certainly not exchange for a regular-season MVP.
Howard's prime didn't last very long, but until he turned 30, he was one of the most dominant players of his generation. He single-handedly turned the Orlando Magic franchise around, leading them to the NBA Finals in 2009.
Dwight Howard's dominant peak didn't last long enough to keep him in the MVP conversation for long. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Between 2008 and 2012, Howard was certainly good enough to win an MVP, but he had the bad luck of his peak coinciding with LeBron's. In his five best seasons, LeBron James won the MVP four times, with Derrick Rose winning the other.
AD spent the first seven years of his career on bad Pelicans teams, preventing him from being a true MVP candidate. After he was traded away, injuries prevented him from putting together MVP-caliber regular seasons.
In terms of his play when he is on the court, Davis is up there with the best players of his era. His 2020 playoff run with the Lakers is one of the best single-postseason runs in recent memory. But that elite regular season has eluded the ten-time All-Star.
In 1999 and 2000, Mourning won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. He finished in the top three in MVP voting both seasons, losing to Karl Malone and Shaq.
The Miami Heat teams he was on in his prime didn't make a big splash in the playoffs, and Mourning retired early due to kidney disease. He was able to make a comeback later, but his peak was cut short, leading to him being underrated in these discussions.
A lot of stars in the 1990s suffered from playing in the same era as Michael Jordan. Not only did they struggle to win a title, but they also found it hard to win individual accolades over MJ. Gary Payton was one of these players.
Payton was consistently an MVP candidate in the 1990s, won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and regularly led the SuperSonics on deep postseason runs, but he was never able to win the ultimate individual accolade.
Stockton was never going to win an MVP award playing next to Karl Malone. He was overshadowed by his pick-and-roll partner, who largely got the lion's share of praise and individual accomplishments.
The former Jazz point guard was as consistent and productive as they come, putting up assists and steal numbers that are impossible to reach to this day, but he never quite hit the heights that would have earned him an MVP award.
Between 1978 and 1981, Gervin finished in the top five in MVP voting for four straight seasons. He was very close to winning the award in 1978, but barely lost to Bill Walton.
The lack of an MVP or a championship has made Gervin an underrated all-time great, but as one of the best perimeter scorers ever, the Iceman has put together some of the best non-MVP seasons.
The Human Highlight Film was arguably the most exciting player of his generation which included Michael Jordan. As a scorer, few players could keep up with Wilkins.
Despite being a consistent 30-point-per-game scorer, Wilkins was never able to get over the hump to win an MVP award and had to settle for seven All-NBA selections instead.
Hayes was one of the best players of the 1970s, but he never got the love his on-court play deserved. He was a two-way force and a double-double machine who was a regular fixture on All-NBA teams. He even led Washington to the 1978 championship, but he was never able to lift the MVP trophy.
One of the winningest players of all time, Havlicek couldn't escape Bill Russell's shadow for much of his career. He won six titles with Russell, and added two more after Russell's retirement, including when he won the Finals MVP in 1974. He was a key part of some of the most iconic moments in NBA history, including the famous radio call, "Havlicek stole the ball."
Havlicek had one hell of a career, including six straight top-10 finishes in MVP voting, but he never won the ultimate award.
Clyde the Glide was another victim of Michael Jordan. He was consistently compared to MJ throughout his career as a fellow athletic, high-scoring, star shooting guard.
Drexler's best season was the 1991-92 campaign. He averaged 25 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game and led the Blazers to 57 wins. But he lost both the MVP award and the NBA Finals to Jordan.
Despite being one of the best scorers and most well-rounded players ever, Barry rarely gets the recognition. This is partly due to the fact that he played in the ABA for four seasons in his prime, and had to miss a year as part of the legal case that barred him from playing.
Barry never won an MVP, but he did everything else. He won a title and a Finals MVP with the Warriors in 1975 and still holds the highest points-per-game average in NBA Finals history with 36.3.
The New York Knicks legend was a walking 20 points and 10 rebounds at the peak of his powers. He was an elite two-way force who led the Knicks to 50 wins in five of the six seasons between 1992 and 1997, including an NBA Finals in 1994.
Patrick Ewing's stellar career overlapped with too many other all-time greats to ever win MVP honors. Credit: Photo By USA TODAY Sports (c) Copyright USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Ewing finished in the top five in MVP voting six times in his career, but he was always overshadowed by Jordan and other star centers like Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.
During his time with the Nets, Kidd was a perennial MVP candidate. He was carrying very limited teams to the top of the league, including back-to-back NBA Finals appearances. One of the best defenders, passers, and playmakers of his generation, Kidd never got the love he deserved.
Kidd and Tim Duncan had a neck-and-neck MVP race in 2002, which Duncan ended up winning. Kidd never got close to winning the MVP award again, but he was a permanent fixture on All-Star and All-NBA teams for years to come.
If one had to pick a player who has never won an MVP award to win one in the near future, Doncic would be near the top of the list. It would be highly surprising and disappointing if Doncic ended his career without having won an MVP award.
The 27-year-old has already come close on multiple occasions. He has made a whopping six All-NBA First Team appearances in his eight seasons in the league, so it may be a matter of time before he eventually wins it.
The fact that Mikan has never won an MVP award is purely due to a technicality. The first MVP award wasn't given until the 1955-56 season, Mikan's last year in the NBA.
Given that Mikan was widely considered the first superstar in NBA history and was the best player in the first decade of the NBA, it's safe to assume that he would have won at least a few MVPs. Instead, he won four championships in the first five years of the NBA.
Zeke is one of the rare players whose playoff performances may be more impressive than his regular-season accolades. Thomas consistently outperformed his regular seasons in the postseason, delivering back-to-back championships to Detroit.
His regular seasons are nothing to scoff at. He still made the All-NBA first or second team for five straight seasons, averaging 20 points and 10 assists in four of them. But he wasn't particularly close to winning the award in any of them.
Leonard is similar to Isiah Thomas in the sense that he always took his game to another level in the playoffs. He has long been one of the best postseason performers in the league, winning two Finals MVPs and regularly increasing his scoring average and efficiency in the playoffs.
One of the best playoff performers in the NBA throughout his career, Kawhi Leonard rarely kept that level of dominance through an entire regular season. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
But he hasn't been able to put together a dominant regular season since his days in San Antonio. He finished in the top three in MVP voting twice as a Spur, but he hasn't come close to that level since then. This is largely due to injuries and availability. Kawhi rarely plays as many games as is generally required of MVP winners, and that is unlikely to change as he enters his age-35 season.
A player who spent the majority of his career playing next to Michael Jordan was never going to win the MVP. In the 1993-94 season following MJ's abrupt retirement, Pippen actually finished third in MVP voting. After Jordan's return, however, Pippen never sniffed those heights.
Pippen was arguably the greatest Robin in NBA history, but MVPs are given to Batmans.
CP3 was regularly the best player on some of the best teams in the league. His teams always overperformed, won 50 games, and made the playoffs. Paul was recognized as an All-NBA selection a whopping 11 times, including four first-team honors, but he never won the MVP award.
The closest Paul has ever come was the 2007-08 season. He averaged 21.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 11.6 assists, and 2.7 steals per game and led the Hornets to the No. 2 seed in the West, but he came second to Kobe Bryant in MVP voting.
Wade is hurt by the fact that his best seasons were wasted on a bad Miami Heat team. Once the Heat got good enough for Wade to be able to win the MVP award, he had LeBron James on his team. This meant that Wade actually had no chance of winning the award.
The Heat legend is still one of the best shooting guards to ever play the game. He has three rings, a Finals MVP, and eight All-NBA selections, but the regular-season MVP award has eluded him.
One of the best to ever play the game, Baylor just happened to play in the same decade as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. During Baylor's peak in the 1960s, Chamberlain and Russell won a combined eight of the ten MVP awards.
This meant that Baylor finished his illustrious career without an MVP or an NBA championship. With ten, Baylor is tied for the most All-NBA first team selections without an MVP award.
No player has made an All-NBA team more times without ever winning an MVP than Jerry West. This, combined with his 1-8 record in the NBA Finals, has caused West to be severely underrated in NBA history discussions.
West suffered from the NBA being a league dominated by big men at the time. Guards rarely won the MVP award in the 1960s, but West came close several times, finishing second in voting in four separate occasions.
Regardless of the lack of an MVP award, West remains one of the most iconic players of all time, cementing his legacy on the official NBA logo.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/superlatives as 25 Greatest NBA Players Who Never Won MVP .
