Listing Chris Paul's Top 3 finishes in the NBA MVP voting
Point guard Chris Paul is a future Hall of Famer who has had tremendous accomplishments, although some still argue he needs an NBA title to validate his greatness.
While that might be asking too much of a single player, it is certainly fair in the sense that it has been asked from almost every superstar in the modern era of the league. However, there are other feats missing from Chris Paul's 17-season resume, such as the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.
Chris Paul's highest finishes in the NBA MVP award voting
CP3's resume includes 11 All-Star appearances, 10 All-NBA nods, nine All-Defensive selections, a Rookie of the Year award, an All-Star Game MVP and inclusion in the league's illustrious 75th anniversary team. "The Point God" has led the league in steals six times and assists four times. He is the only player to amass 20,000 points (20,500) and 10,000 steals (10,648).
Last season, Paul came close to winning his first NBA championship as the Phoenix Suns reached the NBA Finals before falling to Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks. He finished fifth in MVP voting.
Has he come close to winning the MVP award at any point? Let us find out. Here are Paul's top 3 finishes in MVP voting throughout his great career.
No. 3: 2012-13 season | 4th
CP3 has drawn MVP votes nine times. Five times, he finished in the top five of the vote. He finished fourth in 2012-13, his second season with the LA Clippers.
The Clippers (56-26) made the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Western Conference. At the time, the 56 wins were the most in franchise history. The win total surpassed the 49-33 mark set by the then-Buffalo Braves in 1974-75. (The Clippers won 57 games in 2013-14 and 56 again in 2014-15.)
Paul put up 16.9 points, 9.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and a league-high 2.4 steals per game. He also added a 48/32/88 shooting split to his 2012-13 resume. When Paul played (70 games), the team went 50-20, and he recorded 31 double-doubles.
No. 2: 2011-12 season | 3rd
In his first season with the Clippers, Paul earned the third top-five finish in MVP voting of his career (to that point) – in his first season after leaving the New Orleans Hornets.
That year, Paul and Blake Griffin led the Clippers to their first postseason appearance for the franchise since 2006 – and only the second time since 1997. In the shortened, 66-game regular season, Paul appeared in 60 games and averaged 19.8 points, 9.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and an NBA-high 2.5 steals per night.
The Clippers went 40-26, going 37-23 when CP3 played. Ultimately, Paul finished third in the MVP voting, behind winner LeBron James and second-place Kevin Durant.
Paul finished second in the NBA in Offensive Rating, second in Offensive Win Shares and second in Win Shares.
No. 1: 2007-08 season | 2nd
The 2007-08 season saw Paul, then with the New Orleans Hornets, finish second in the MVP voting, behind the legendary bryant" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Kobe Bryant (who won his only MVP award).
Paul led the Hornets to a 56-26 record. That's the best in franchise history and the only 50-win campaign for the franchise. What's more, that season marked the Hornets' emotional return after being displaced to Oklahoma City for two seasons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The team made the second round of the playoffs before falling to the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs in seven games.
Paul averaged 21.1 points, a league-high 11.6 assists, four rebounds and an NBA-high 2.7 steals per game in only his third season in the league. He also put up a 48/37/85 shooting split in the regular season (80 games).
The team went 55-25 with him on the court, while Paul had 56 double-doubles (second-most that year behind Dwight Howard) and a triple-double.
Paul led the 2007-08 season in Win Shares, Offensive Win Shares, Win Shares per 48 minutes and was second in Player Efficiency Rating.
Ultimately, Bryant edged Paul in the MVP voting with 82 first-place votes to 28.
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