Who is the lowest seeded player to win NBA MVP? Stats explored
Nikola Jokic of the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets is likely set to win his third NBA MVP award. The Nuggets barely lost the No. 1 seed this season, but most believe that the Nuggets are the best team in the West.
Most MVPs come from No. 1 seed teams, as the NBA MVP usually goes to the best player on the best team. Sometimes a player has such a solid campaign that they win the award despite their team not topping the standings. So what's the lowest seeded team to produce an NBA MVP?
There are cases when the MVP came from a team that finished as a No. 3 seed in their conference. Bob Petitt won the first NBA MVP in 1956. His St. Louis Hawks had a 33-39 record and were the No. 3 seed in the Western division and lost in the division finals. Moses Malone won the MVP with the No. 3 seed Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.
Malone won two other MVPs, with the Houston Rockets in 1979 and 1982. Both teams won less than 60 percent of their games and made the playoffs.
There's also one instance in NBA history where the MVP came from a losing team that missed the playoffs entirely. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the MVP in 1976 when the LA Lakers were ninth of 18 teams with a 40-42 record. It was the only MVP to win on a team that missed the playoffs.
Nikola Jokic won an MVP on the No. 3 seed Nuggets in 2021. He pulled off another MVP in 2022, this time as the Nuggets finished as the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.
Russell Westbrook tied Nikola Jokic for MVP from the lowest-seeding MVP team. He won the NBA MVP when the OKC Thunder were the No. 6 seed in 2017. The Thunder finished with a 47-35 record. It's largely regarded as one of the most undeserving MVP awards or worst teams to produce an MVP.
Russell Westbrook’s NBA MVP season stats
Russell Westbrook won the MVP in 2017 solely from his counting numbers. Most didn't consider the Thunder to be a title threat all season. They lost in five games in the first round of the playoffs to the Houston Rockets.
However, Westbrook put up enough stats to win the award. He averaged a triple-double on the season and took advantage of usage after Kevin Durant departed for Golden State.
Westbrook led the league in scoring, with 31.6 points per game. He also averaged 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game. Westbrook and Oscar Robertson are the only two players in NBA history to average a triple-double for the season.
It was Westbrook’s numbers that gave him the award. He benefited from a 41.65% usage rate, the highest in the league among guards that season. Westbrook shot 42.5 percent in his MVP campaign. He hit just 34.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.