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NBA MVP Ladder 3.0 all about respecting elders; LeBron James remains on top

By Phil Watson

Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Only 3 players have been named NBA MVP in their age-32 season or later, but LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is bidding to be the 4th.

In the 64 seasons the NBA has named a Most Valuable Player, it is an honor that has mostly been for the young and the bold. Of the 64 winners (some more than once, of course), 51 of those won the award in their age-29 season or younger, according to Basketball-Reference. That leaves only 13 winners from the 30-and-older crowd.

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How much has youth been served in the voting? Nineteen players were in their age-25 season or younger, including 2010-11 winner Derrick Rose (22), 2008-09 and 2009-10 winner LeBron James (24 and 25 respectively) and 2013-14 winner Kevin Durant (25).

That list also includes the reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, who could become the second player to win it twice at 25 or younger with a repeat performance this season.

But the player who is currently the only person on that list may have something to say about Antetokounmpo joining the club, because rather than a season for the aged in his age-35 campaign, James — now leading the Los Angeles Lakers — may be putting up one for the ages.

There have only been three winners that were in their age-32 season or later — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1979-80, Michael Jordan in 1995-96 and again in 1997-98, and Karl Malone in 1996-97 and 1998-99.

Malone’s win in 1999 made him the oldest winner in NBA history at age 35. If James were to win for the fifth time in 2019-20, he would not quite surpass The Mailman.

Getting MVP No. 5 would also vault James into very elite company. Abdul-Jabbar was named MVP six times, Bill Russell and Jordan won it five times each. That group would qualify as elite, dontcha think? Of course, being in league with Wilt Chamberlain as the only four-time winners isn’t bad either.

A reminder of the process to create the ladder:

  • No player from sub-.500 teams will be considered. There has only been one player from a team that finished worse than .500 to be named MVP (Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76) and that happened before the media took over the voting for the 1980-81 season.
  • The baseline for games played is 70 percent, based on the player with the fewest games played to be named MVP, Bill Walton in 1977-78. He appeared in 58 of his team’s 82 games (70.7 percent). For Ladder 3.0, this eliminated Paul George of the LA Clippers, who has only appeared in 26 of his team’s 42 games to date.
  • Players have to average at least 30 minutes per game. No MVP winner has averaged less than the 32.7 minutes a night Stephen Curry logged in 2014-15. Antetokounmpo was the next lowest, averaging 32.8 minutes per game last season.

It’s a five-player ladder that will bear a significant resemblance to Ladder 2.0 from four weeks ago, with six players that have separated from the rest of the pack.