History
NBA All-Star Game MVPsTake a look back at each of the NBA All-Star Game's MVP winners.
From NBA.com Staff
Updated on October 31, 2022 1:11 PM> NBA History: Awards
A year-by-year list of the NBA Kia All-Star Game MVP winners:
YEAR PLAYER(S) TEAM(S)
2022 — Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors
2021 — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2020 — Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers
2019 — Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
2018 — LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2017 — Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
2016 — Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
2015 — Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
2014 — Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
2013 — Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
2012 — Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
2011 — Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2010 — Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
2009 — Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant, Phoenix Suns/Los Angeles Lakers
2008 — LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2007 — Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2006 — LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
2005 — Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
2004 — Shaquille O’Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
2003 — Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
2002 Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2001 Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
2000 — Shaquille O’Neal/Tim Duncan, Los Angeles Lakers/San Antonio Spurs
1999 No All-Star Game played
1998 — Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
1997 — Glen Rice, Charlotte Hornets
1996 — Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
1995 — Mitch Richmond, Sacramento Kings
1994 — Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls
1993 — John Stockton/Karl Malone, Utah Jazz
1992 — Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
1991 — Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers
1990 — Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
1989 — Karl Malone, Utah Jazz
1988 — Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
1987 — Tom Chambers, Seattle SuperSonics
1986 — Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
1985 — Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets
1984 — Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
1983 — Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
1982 — Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
1981 — Tiny Archibald, Boston Celtics
1980 — George Gervin, San Antonio Spurs
1979 — David Thompson, Denver Nuggets
1978 — Randy Smith, Buffalo Braves
1977 — Julius Erving, Philadelphia 76ers
1976 — Dave Bing, Washington Bullets
1975 — Walt Frazier, New York Knicks
1974 — Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons
1973 — Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
1972 — Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
1971 — Lenny Wilkens, Seattle SuperSonics
1970 — Willis Reed, New York Knicks
1969 — Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
1968 — Hal Greer, Philadelphia 76ers
1967 — Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors
1966 — Adrian Smith, Cincinnati Royals
1965 — Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati Royals
1964 — Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
1963 — Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
1962 — Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
1961 — Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
1960 — Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
1959 — Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
1958 — Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
1957 — Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
1956 — Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
1955 — Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics
1954 — Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
1953 — George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1952 — Paul Arizin, Philadelphia Warriors
1951 — Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics
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The NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player(s) voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each year's game. The league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively. The winner is voted upon by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The fan voting accounts for 25% of the voting. The player(s) with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award. In February 2020, Commissioner Adam Silver renamed the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in honor of four-time winner Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash a few weeks earlier.
As of 2022, the most recent recipient is Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. Bryant and Bob Pettit are the only two players to win the All-Star Game MVP four times. Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and LeBron James have each won the award three times, while Bob Cousy, Julius Erving, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Allen Iverson, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant have all won the award twice. James became the youngest to win the award in 2006 at the age of 21 years and 1 month. No All-Star Game MVP was named in 1999 since the game was canceled due to the league's lockout. Four of the games had joint winners—Elgin Baylor and Pettit in 1959, John Stockton and Malone in 1993, O'Neal and Tim Duncan in 2000, and O'Neal and Bryant in 2009. O'Neal became the first player in All-Star history to share two MVP awards as well as the first player to win the award with multiple teams. The Los Angeles Lakers have had eleven winners while the Boston Celtics have had eight. Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kyrie Irving of Australia, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece are the only winners not born in the United States. Both Duncan and Irving are American citizens, but are considered "international" players by the NBA because they were not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D.C. Antetokounmpo of Greece is the only winner to be trained entirely outside the U.S.; Irving lived in the U.S. since age two, and Duncan played U.S. college basketball at Wake Forest.
Bob Pettit (1958, 1959) and Russell Westbrook (2015, 2016) are the only players to win consecutive awards. Pettit (1956), Bob Cousy (1957), Wilt Chamberlain (1960), Bill Russell (1963), Oscar Robertson (1964), Willis Reed (1970), Dave Cowens (1973), Michael Jordan (1988, 1996, 1998), Magic Johnson (1990), Shaquille O'Neal (2000), and Allen Iverson (2001) all won the All-Star Game MVP and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in the same season; Jordan is the only player to do this multiple times. Fourteen players have won the award playing for the team that hosted the All-Star Game: Macauley (1951), Cousy (1957), Pettit (1958, 1962), Chamberlain (1960), Adrian Smith (1966), Rick Barry (1967), Jerry West (1972), Tom Chambers (1987), Michael Jordan (1988), Karl Malone (1993), John Stockton (1993), O'Neal (2004, 2009), Bryant (2011) and Davis (2017); Pettit and O'Neal did this multiple times. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the distinction of playing in the most All-Star Games (18) without winning the All-Star Game MVP, while Adrian Smith won the MVP in his only All-Star Game.
Winners[edit]
Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell (left) won the award in the 1963 NBA All-Star Game. Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain (center) won the award in the 1960 NBA All-Star Game.
Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O'Neal has won the award three times in his career. He is also the oldest MVP ever, at 36 years and 346 days old.
Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant won the award a record four times in his career, a feat he shares with Bob Pettit. The award was re-named after him following his death in 2020.
LeBron James was the youngest player to ever win the award at 21 years and 51 days old and is the all-time leader in points scored in NBA All-Star Game history.