For three-straight seasons, Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird won the NBA Most Valuable Player award (1984-86). The streak tied a league record for most consecutive MVP awards won (Wilt Chamberlain from 1966-68 and Bill Russell from 1961-63).
The streak was thwarted by the man they call Magic, as Earvin “Magic” Johnson claimed the 1987 NBA MVP award. It was his first honor as league MVP after eight seasons in the NBA.
Johnson averaged 23.9 points (career-best), shot 52.2 percent from the field, led the league with 12.2 assists (led in four of the last five seasons), and added 6.3 rebounds during the campaign. Magic became the first guard to win the award since Oscar Robertson, who won MVP in 1964 playing for the Cincinnati Royals.
Johnson earned 65 of 78 first place votes and 733 of a maximum 780 total points in balloting. Michael Jordan (10 first place votes) and Larry Bird (1 first place vote) finished second and third, respectively.
The Lakers would finish with a league-best 65-17 record (tied-for the third best record in Lakers history) and earned home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
Following series wins over the Denver Nuggets (3-0) and Golden State Warriors (4-1), the Lakers matched with the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals.
Prior to Game 2 of the WCF, Johnson received his hardware and gave a humble speech thanking the Lakers organization, Laker fans, and dedicated the award to his dad.
“I hope he is as proud and as happy as I am tonight,” Johnson said.
The 1986-87 season would end in an even more magical way, as the Lake Show would sweep the SuperSonics in the Conference Finals and captured their 10th title in team history (5th championship in Los Angeles) with a 4-2 series win over the rival Celtics.
Magic would be named Finals MVP and became the first player in NBA history to win the award three times.
“It was a total team effort really,” Johnson told Brent Musburger. “We all chipped in and got the job done. It’s just great to be a champ again. Because of the fact of what we did in the regular season, we carried it on into the playoffs. It’s definitely the sweetest one.”