Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be presented with the NBA's Most Valuable Player award during the Oklahoma City Thunder's second-round playoff series against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, setting up a rare postseason clash between the league's top-two MVP finishers.
Historical data compiled by analyst Todd Whitehead's reveals mixed results for MVP winners in playoff matchups against their closest competitors. Of the 27 previous instances when an MVP faced the runner-up in the postseason, 15 resulted in victories for the newly crowned MVP.
The research highlights several notable cases where MVP runners-up exacted revenge in the playoffs. Bill Russell, who lost the 1960 MVP race to Wilt Chamberlain, defeated Chamberlain in the playoffs that same season, a pattern that would repeat with Jerry West besting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972.
More recent examples include Hakeem Olajuwon overcoming David Robinson in 1995 after Robinson had claimed the regular season MVP award, as well as Michael Jordan beating Karl Malone in 1997. Tim Duncan also reversed his fortunes against Steve Nash in 2005 following Nash's MVP victory.
The Thunder-Nuggets series represents the first time since 2016 that a reigning MVP will battle the runner-up in the playoffs, when Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors eliminated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Complete History of MVP vs. Runner-Up Playoff Matchups
MVP Winners Who Beat Runner-Up in Playoffs:
• Bob Cousy beat Bob Pettit ('57)
• Bill Russell beat Elgin Baylor ('62 + Pettit '61)
• Wilt Chamberlain beat Nate Thurmond ('67)
• Willis Reed beat Jerry West ('70)
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar beat Julius Erving ('71)
• Larry Bird beat Dominique Wilkins ('86 + Bernard King '84)
• Michael Jordan beat Malone ('98 + Clyde '92 + Magic '91)
• LeBron James beat Kevin Durant ('12)
• Steph Curry beat James Harden ('15)
MVP Losers Who Beat MVP in Playoffs:
• Bill Russell beat Wilt Chamberlain ('60)
• Jerry West beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ('72)
• Bill Walton beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ('77)
• Larry Bird beat Julius Erving ('81)
• Magic Johnson beat Larry Bird ('85)
• Michael Jordan beat Malone ('97 + Charles Barkley '93)
• Hakeem Olajuwon beat David Robinson ('95)
• Shaquille O'Neal beat Tim Duncan ('02 + Allen Iverson '01)
• Tim Duncan beat Steve Nash ('05)
• LeBron James beat Steph Curry ('16)
