NBA MVP Race: 5 Closest MVP Races Of All Time

#4 Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal in 2004-2005

Dallas Mavericks v Phoenix Suns - West SF Game 1

Looking back, it’s honestly incredible that Nash won back-to-back MVP awards in the mid-aughts while the likes of Kobe, Shaq, Garnett, Duncan and Nowitzki were still in their respective primes. His first one, particularly, came in peculiar circumstances.

Upon his arrival in Arizona, Nash led the Suns to 62 wins and supercharged a Phoenix offense that would ultimately serve as the brightest spot on Mike D’Antoni’s resume - the days of Seven Seconds or Less offense are still held in fond memory by most NBA fans.

Shaq, meanwhile, was impacting his new Miami Heat team in his first season there. With the emergence of Dwyane Wade and with O’Neal powering the Heat to levels of excellence that they hadn’t experienced previously, it really was no surprise that he’d get his fair share of MVP votes that season.

Still, the unexpectedness of Nash’s coming-out party paired with his team’s success made the narrative too interesting to ignore, which is why he ended up winning this race by a scant 34 points. Nash's per-game numbers for that season stand at 15.5 points and 11.5 assists, while O'Neal's averages of 22.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game look superior.