NBA: 25 players who should have won MVP in retrospect

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson speaks during the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Player of the Year press conference prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

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NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for TNT ) /

Winning the NBA regular season MVP is something all players dream about. Sure, taking home NBA titles and making All-Star squads are high on the agenda as well but being named the best player in the league for that particular season is almost unthinkable.

Only a handful of players are ultimately able to say that they have one sitting on their mantle. Also, a select few have an MVP that they simply shouldn’t didn’t deserve.

There’s a lot that goes into winning the award. Team success is heavily valued. So is individual dominance. Yet, who got it wrong? There are a number of head scratching MVP winners that make you look twice and wonder: How?

Simply put, how in the world did this player take home an MVP?

To answer that question, we’ve decided to take a look at every MVP winner in the history of the game and compare them to the peers they beat on that particular season. While players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and even Michael Jordan are worthy of their awards, there were several times where even players as great as they were, didn’t deserve it on a particular year.

We took everything into account, from win shares and individual statistics to how a certain team played all season long. In short, we left no stone unturned.

Now, let’s dive into the 25 players who should have won MVP in retrospect.