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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Oscar Robertson (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

NBA: 25 players who should have won MVP in retrospect: 6. Oscar Robertson 1964-65

There was an incredulous look on the face of Oscar Robertson when the NBA MVP winner was revealed for the 1964-65 season. By all accounts, he believed he did more than enough to leave with the award safely tucked underneath his arm. With that said, he was mistaken.

Bill Russell was named the league’s MVP in a landslide. At 30 years of age, Russell averaged a pedestrian 14.1 points per game but more than made up for that with 24.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists. Like always, Russell and his Boston Celtics were dominant. They led the league with a 62-18 record and unsurprisingly, another won another title.

Despite the stellar numbers, there was absolutely no reason why Robertson shouldn’t have been named the league’s MVP.

Always the triple-double threat, Robertson averaged 30.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 11.5 assists. His Cincinnati Royals finished second in the Eastern Division, ironically enough, behind the Celtics, with a 48-32 record.

Unlike today, where unheralded players seemingly roll out of bed and nab a triple-double, during Robertson’s day, it was anything but routine. He was a monster on the year and led his team to big-time wins. Like always, however, in order to compete with Russell in terms of the league MVP award, a player needed to rack up a higher overall win total. Something that was almost impossible to achieve considering how stacked those Celtics squads were.

Unfortunately for Robertson, it was Russell’s team success that pushed him to the front of every voter’s mind that season.