Who did Michael Jordan lose NBA MVP to? Stats, winner and more explored

---

No. 3 1987 to Magic Johnson

Michael Jordan’s first real brush with the MVP award came during the 1986-87 season. Johnson’s Lakers tore through the league to finish with just 17 losses out of 82 games for the season.

Jordan’s Bulls came in eight in the Eastern Conference and were swept in three games by Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics in the first round. Johnson, Jordan and Bird were the top three in a race that went to the “Magic Man.”

Here are their regular season averages:

Player	Magic Johnson	Michael Jordan	Larry Bird
PPG	23.9	37.1	28.1
RPG	6.3	5.2	9.2
APG	12.2	4.6	7.6
SPG	1.7	2.9	1.8
BPG	0.5	1.5	0.9
MPG	36.3	40.0	40.6
FG%	52.2	48.2	52.5
3-PT FG%	20.5	18.2	40.0
FT%	84.8	85.7	91.0
Win Share	15.9	16.9	15.2

---

No. 2 1989 to Magic Johnson

Michael Jordan was the reigning MVP leading into the 1988-89 season. Magic Johnson went out to reclaim the award and did as he set out to do. LA was again the top dog in the West with a 57-25 win-loss mark. Jordan’s Bulls, now making some noise in the East, finished sixth.

Johnson and Jordan reversed the 1988 result the following year while Karl Malone joined the picture and finished third.

Here are their regular-season averages for the 1988-89 season:

Player	Magic Johnson	Michael Jordan	Karl Malone
PPG	22.5	32.5	29.1
RPG	7.9	8.0	10.7
APG	12.8	8.0	2.7
SPG	1.8	2.9	1.8
BPG	0.3	0.8	0.9
MPG	37.5	40.2	39.1
FG%	50.9	53.8	51.9
3-PT FG%	31.4	27.6	31.3
FT%	91.1	85.0	76.6
Win Share	16.1	19.8	15.2

---

No. 1 1997 to Karl Malone

“His Airness” was the MVP leading into the 1996-97 season and led the Chicago Bulls to a 69-13 mark, a year after finishing 72-10. Karl Malone’s Utah Jazz topped the West with a 64-18 card, making MJ the favorite to repeat. But, in a result that stunned many, “The Mailman” pipped Jordan for the award.

In his acceptance speech, Malone thanked Michael Jordan for letting him “borrow it for one year.” The race was so one-sided between the two that Grant Hill, the third-placer, didn’t receive one single first vote.

Here are their averages for the 1996-97 regular season:

Player	Karl Malone	Michael Jordan	Grant Hill
PPG	27.4	29.6	21.4
RPG	9.9	5.9	9.0
APG	4.5	4.3	7.3
SPG	1.4	1.7	1.8
BPG	0.6	0.5	0.6
MPG	36.6	37.9	39.3
FG%	55.0	48.6	49.6
3-PT FG%	0.0	37.4	30.3
FT%	75.5	83.3	71.1
Win Share	16.7	18.3	14.6