5 biggest NBA MVP snubs of the 21st century

#3 Kobe Bryant (2006-07)

Sacramento Kings vs LA Lakers

It's difficult to come to grips with the fact that 5-time NBA champion and 2-time Finals MVP winner Kobe Bryant was adjudged to have the best regular season in the league only once in his glorious career.

He was snubbed for the NBA MVP award multiple times, but the biggest one came in 2006, where Bryant lost to the popular Steve Nash despite averaging 35.4 points per game over an incredible campaign.

Nash's range of passing and efficient shooting helped him bag one of his two NBA MVP awards, but it was Bryant who was more deserving of the award that year.

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#2 Shaquille O'Neal (2000-01)

XXVI Summer Olympic Games

After winning the prestigious award in the 1999-00 season, the then-LA Lakers' dominant center Shaquille O'Neal was extremely unlucky to miss out on the NBA MVP award the next season.

A victim of voter fatigue, perhaps, O'Neal lost out to the Philadelphia 76ers' diminutive guard Allen Iverson, whose flashy handles and averages of 31 points, 4.6 assist and 2.5 steals were enough for the voters to sway in his favor.

Nevertheless, Shaquille O'Neal was virtually unplayable that regular season, tallying a brilliant 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 14.9 win shares, as compared to Iverson's 11.8, making him an obvious choice to win the NBA MVP award.

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#1 James Harden (2014-15)

New York Knicks vs Brooklyn Nets

Probably the most controversial pick of the bunch, James Harden lost out to the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry for the NBA MVP award in the 2014-15 season.

Despite putting up monster numbers for a not-so-good Houston Rockets side which featured players like Chandler Parsons and a post-prime Dwight Howard, the voters went with the ace 3-point shooter, Stephen Curry.

Harden averaged an incredible 27.4 points, seven assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, as opposed to Curry's figures of 23.8, 7.7, 4.3, and two, respectively.

Another reason why Curry got the award was that he played in a stacked team that had players like MIP candidate Draymond Green and All-Star Klay Thompson ready to bail him out. By contrast, Harden rode solo that year and that definitely cost him the MVP trophy.