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Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is among the strongest candidates to win the 2020-21 NBA MVP award.
Doncic is averaging 27.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season. Among the NBA MVP candidates, Doncic might be putting up the most impressive stat line so far.
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However, the Dallas Mavericks have an 11-14 record and are the third-worst team in the Western Conference. If Dallas' season gets turned around and Doncic continues to play incredibly well, the Slovenian might win his first MVP award in only his third season in the NBA.
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While it would certainly be quite an achievement to win the MVP award in just his third season, it won't make him the quickest to win the coveted trophy.
Here are the five players who won the NBA MVP trophy quickest in their careers (in terms of seasons played).
5 Legends who won the NBA MVP award quickest in their career
In NBA history, not many players have won the NBA MVP in the first three seasons of their careers. Derrick Rose was the most recent player to do so, when he won the award in his third NBA campaign (2010-11). Rose was also the youngest to win the MVP title in NBA history at 22 years and 191 days at the end of the regular season.
Five players have won the NBA MVP award within the first two seasons of their NBA career. In this report, you will find out who are those five NBA legends.
Without further ado, let us start.
#5 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - NBA MVP winner as a sophomore
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for most NBA MVPs won in the history of the league with six. The center entered the NBA during the 1969-70 campaign with the Milwaukee Bucks. Known at the time as Lew Alcindor, he won the Most Valuable Player award in his second season.
After winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1970, Jabbar went on to win the MVP as a sophomore (the third player ever to do so) with an average of 31.7 points and 16 rebounds per game. Moreover, he guided the Bucks to the NBA title alongside Oscar Robertson and won Finals MVP honors.
#4 Bill Russell - NBA MVP winner as a sophomore
The legendary Bill Russell owns many records in NBA history. He is the all-time leader in NBA championships won as a player with 11 in 13 seasons. Russell guided the Boston Celtics to the NBA title as a rookie in 1957 and won the first of his five MVP awards in his sophomore year.
In the 1957-58 campaign, Russell averaged 16.6 points and 22.7 rebounds per game and the Celtics had a league-best 49-23 record. However, Russell and the Celtics had their only unsuccessful NBA Finals at the end of that year, as they fell in six games to the Bob Pettit-inspired St. Louis Hawks.
#3 Bob Pettit - NBA MVP winner as a sophomore
Speaking of Bob Pettit, the first winner of the NBA MVP award in history, also won it in just his second year in the NBA.
Fresh off winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award in the 1954-55 season, Pettit took the first MVP in league history in the 1955-56 campaign after averaging 25.7 points and 16.2 rebounds.
The Hall of Fame center went on to win another NBA MVP award later in his career and led the St. Louis Hawks to the NBA championship in 1958 where they defeated Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics. In those Finals, Pettit averaged 29 points and 17 rebounds per game.
He is also tied with Kobe Bryant with four All-Star Game MVPs (the most in league history).
#2 Wes Unseld - NBA MVP winner as a rookie
In the 1968-69 season, Wes Unseld became the second rookie (and the last) in NBA history to win the NBA MVP award.
The Baltimore Bullets had selected Unseld with the second overall pick of the 1968 NBA Draft, and the center averaged 13.8 points (lowest for an MVP) and 18.2 rebounds per game as a rookie.
Though he was the team's fifth-best scorer that season, Unseld led them in Win Shares and the Bullets' 57-25 record (best in the league) helped him win the award in the players' eyes (players voted for the NBA MVP award until the 1979-80 season).
#1 Wilt Chamberlain - NBA MVP winner as a rookie
Among Wilt Chamberlain's impressive collection of the NBA's records, scoring 100 points in a single game, he was also the first player to win the NBA MVP in his rookie season. Chamberlain changed the league in the 1960s. His athleticism and touch made him an unstoppable scorer.
As a rookie for the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1959-60 season, the dominant Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds per game to win both, the Rookie of the Year award as well as the NBA MVP trophy.
The team was coming off a 32-40 season the previous year, and Chamberlain led them to a 49-26 regular-season record and the Division Finals as a rookie.
Also read: NBA 2020-21: 5 Teams that made the playoff last season but wont make it back in 2021
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