RACE TO THE MVP

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Will Kobe Bryant (left) or Dirk Nowitzki join the short list of two-time MVP winners this season?

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

One MVP is great, but multiple winners are a rare bird

By Steve Aschburner, NBA.com
Posted Mar 5 2010 11:50AM

A week ago in this space, The Race looked at the impact on MVP candidates when a team has one superstar vs. two or more.

This week, the committee is reviewing NBA history for MVP winners who have two or more such trophies.

Maybe this is the NBA's version of baseball's "first-ballot Hall of Famers" cutoff to differentiate its elite of the elite at Cooperstown. The Race will just lay out some numbers and let you form your own opinions about past MVP winners -- and the three guys on this week's list who have a chance to move up from one-timer status.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of course, is the all-time MVP leader with six honors over his remarkable career. Bill Russell and Michael Jordan collected five each and Wilt Chamberlain was honored with four (though he curiously missed in 1961-62 after averaging his Herculean 50.4 ppg). That means four players have accounted for 20 of the 54 MVP awards since the modern version was created in 1955-56.

Three more players -- Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone -- each won three MVP awards. And four guys -- fittingly, three of the greatest power forwards in league history -- won two each: Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan and playmaker Steve Nash. So that ups the "hogging" stats to 37 trophies spread around to just 11 players.

That leaves 17 one-and-done MVP winners, which is a far greater honor than that characterization makes it sound. The list of names still is a Who's Who and, literally, a timeline fit for Springfield, Mass.: Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Wes Unseld, Willis Reed, Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo, Bill Walton, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

An interesting sub-plot to The Race this season, then, is whether any of the three guys on this week's list -- James, Bryant and Nowitzki -- can boost himself into an even more special club by claiming his second Maurice Podoloff trophy. That would make it 38 out of 55 by just a dozen players. Stay tuned and keep counting.

1. Lebron James, Cavaliers (48-14)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
62	39.0	29.8	7.1	8.6	1.7	1.0	.504	.345	.776

Last Week's Rank - 1
Nets fans got about as close to having LeBron James on their side as they're going to get, given the pity James expressed for them after the Cavaliers' easy victory at Izod Center Wednesday. The free agent-to-be New Jersey supposedly is wooing even got booed a couple of times for not being flashy enough on breakaway dunks, which suggests that his 26-point, 14-assist, seven-rebound performances won't be coming in a New Jersey jersey anytime soon.

2. Dwight Howard, Magic (42-20)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
62	35.1	18.7	13.1	1.6	1.0	2.8	.603	---	.613

Last Week's Rank - 3
The committee likes continuous improvement at this rarefied level, and that's what Howard has been showing lately. First the Orlando strongman boosted his accuracy at the foul line. This week he made a big adjustment at the other end: After totaling 21 points and eight rebounds in 49 foul-plagued minutes in the Magic's previous two games, Howard didn't commit a single personal foul and racked up 28 points and 12 boards in a laugher over Golden State.

3. Kevin Durant, Thunder (36-24)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
60	39.6	29.6	7.5	2.8	1.4	0.9	.478	.381	.884

Last Week's Rank - 2
Uh oh, another streak bites the dust. A few days after Durant's string of 25-point games ended at 29, his streak of scoring 20 or more was snapped at 34 in a rout by Denver Wednesday. He also had a sub-par four boards and zero assists on an all-around off night for the Thunder.

4. Kobe Bryant, Lakers (46-16)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
57	38.8	27.6	5.2	4.8	1.7	0.4	.460	.319	.822

Last Week's Rank - 4
Bryant has been money at the line, sinking 29 of 33 freebies over his last three games. But his 39 points on 15-of-28 shooting in Miami -- and an airballed 3-pointer late in overtime -- wasn't enough to prevent the Lakers from losing their fifth in six tries in south Florida or slipping to 9-9 on the road since Dec. 26.

5. Dirk Nowitzki, Mavs (41-21)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
61	38.0	25.2	7.7	2.6	0.9	1.0	.479	.360	.908

Last Week's Rank - 6
You want to talk free throws (look, we know it's not sexy but they count, right?), we need to talk Nowitzki. This season, the Mavericks' sharpshooter -- who flicks his shots as easily as most of us shoot Nerf balls -- has made 96.4 percent of his foul shots in the fourth quarter and in overtimes. That's just one of the keys to the Mavericks' nine-game winning streak.

6. Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets (40-21)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
48	37.8	28.6	6.3	3.4	1.3	0.4	.457	.341	.829

Last Week's Rank - 5
Anthony had been running on "E" lately, in terms of his overall energy, but he roused from a personal mini-slump with 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the Nuggets' rout of OKC. Denver's small forward scored 23 in the first half, more than the Thunder's MVP candidate Kevin Durant (19) in the whole game. It was Anthony's 24th game of 30 points or more this season, up from 13 last year, but his first in seven games.

7. Deron Williams, Jazz (39-22)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
55	37.2	18.6	4.1	10.1	1.2	0.2	.474	.378	.785

Last Week's Rank - 9
First Williams racked up 35 points, with 13 assists, in the Jazz's 23-point victory against Houston. Then, after getting 13 and 13 in a loss to the Clippers, he had 27 points, nine assists, two steals and two turnovers in Utah's 116-108 triumph at Phoenix. Not bad for a guy who has been playing with a sore right wrist since January.

8. Chauncey Billups, Nuggets (40-21)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
52	33.7	20.1	3.0	6.0	1.2	0.1	.438	.431	.904

Last Week's Rank - 7
When Billups scored 21 at Phoenix Monday, it was the fifth time in seven games that he had led Denver in scoring -- no small achievement when you're playing alongside another MVP candidate (Anthony). The veteran point guard is averaging 23.2 points over his past 25 games.

9. Chris Bosh, Raptors (31-28)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
53	36.4	24.5	11.4	2.3	0.6	1.1	.525	.372	.790

Last Week's Rank - 8
One of those absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder weeks for Bosh, who skipped the Raptors' last trip with a sprained ankle. He did practice Wednesday but was listed as day-to-day for Toronto's game against the Knicks Friday. A 2-4 week by his teammates while he's out at least is the sort of thing that can help draw MVP support.

10. Dwyane Wade, Heat (31-31)

G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	FG%	3P%	FT%
58	35.9	26.2	4.6	6.6	1.8	1.0	.467	.293	.756

Last Week's Rank - --
A Steve Nash-like night by Wade -- and an un-Steve Nash-like night by Nash -- gets the Miami guard onto this last rung of The Race in place of Phoenix's playmaker. Wade didn't get locked into a scoring duel with Bryant in the Heat's 114-111 overtime victory over the Lakers; instead, he dished a season-best 14 assists. Heck, he didn't even take a shot in the extra five minutes, but he helped get Miami up to .500 (31-31) in its quest for the final East playoff spot. Nash? He had 14 points, 15 assists but (ugh!) seven turnovers in the loss to Utah Thursday.

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