Has any NBA rookie ever won MVP? Looking at athletes who got drafted & immediately dominated the league
NBA rookies today are usually restricted to the Rookie of the Year award, and we haven't seen a rookie be considered for the MVP award in decades.
However, with 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama dominating the league, fans are wondering if it is possible for a rookie to lift the Maurice Podoloff trophy.
This hasn't happened since the 1968-69 season, when Wes Unseld won it while playing for the Baltimore Bullets. He is the second and last person to ever win it after Wilt Chamberlain did so in 1959-60. Both put up monster numbers in their rookie year and beat several All-Stars in the MVP race.
Chamberlain averaged an absurd 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds while playing 46.4 minutes per game in his rookie year. He led the league in scoring, rebounds and minutes played. "The Big Dipper" won the race in a landslide, receiving 49 first-place votes while three-time champion Bill Russell received 15.
Chamberlain also holds the record for most points in a game by a rookie with 58, achieving that twice. In fact, the NBA Rookie of the Year trophy is now named the "Wilt Chamberlain trophy."
Chamberlain set the stage for Wes Unseld to win the award in 1968-69. Unseld averaged 13.8 points, 18.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He too won the MVP race in a landslide, receiving 53 first-place votes while runner up Willies Reed received just 18.
Victor Wembanyama's performances have drawn comparisons with these two legends. Many believe he will be in contention for the MVP award if the San Antonio Spurs grab a playoff berth.
The Frenchman recently dropped 38 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns to win the game for the Spurs.
Only time will tell if "Wemby's" high-level of play continues and the voters consider him as a legitimate candidate.
How many NBA rookies have ever received an MVP vote?
Only a handful of rookies have been generational talents who immediately turned around the fortune of the franchise they were drafted in. Out of the hundreds of players who have been in an NBA MVP race, only a tiny fraction have been rookies.
We scoured through every MVP voting list and found all the NBA rookies who have ever recieved a vote for the award.
The last NBA rookie to recieve an MVP vote was Blake Griffin in 2011. He won the Rookie of the Year award that season by unanimous vote and finished 10th in the MVP race.
The players to do it before him were none other than LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in 2003-04. James, arguably the most hyped prospect to enter the league, earned 11 points after votes, while Anthony received one point.
Only a few rookies every decade even made it into the coveted conversation. David Robinson (1990), Shaquille O'Neal (1993) and Jason Kidd (1995) were the only players to receive MVP votes as NBA rookies in the '90s.
The 1980s arguably saw the most talent enter the league with one stacked draft class after another.
Kelvin Ransey (1981), Kelly Tripucka (1982), Isiah Thomas (1982), Jay Vincent (1982), Buck Williams (1982), Terry Cummings (1983), Michael Jordan (1985), Hakeem Olajuwon (1985) and Mark Jackson (1988) recieved MVP votes as rookies. The 1982 draft class had four players enter the MVP conversation.
The 1970s saw only four NBA rookies with potential to enter the MVP race. They were Sidney Wicks (1972), Walter Davis (1978), Marques Johnson (1978) and Phil Ford (1979).
With a smaller league in the 1950s and '60s, many rookies were considered exceptional when they entered the NBA and thus received MVP votes.
The list includes Tom Gola (1956), Maurice Stokes (1956), Bill Russell (1957), Jerry West (1961), Terry Dischinger (1963), John Havlicek (1963), John Barnhill (1963), Gus Johnson (1964) and Jerry Lucas (1964).
Overall, only 31 rookies in NBA history ever met the criteria to enter the MVP discussion and only six of those 31 won the award during their career. No NBA rookie has recieved a vote in the last 12 years, so it looks challenging for Victor Wembanyama to win the award this season.