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) /

26 of 26

Wilt Chamberlain (Photo by Harry Benson/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) /

NBA: 25 players who should have won MVP in retrospect: 1. Wilt Chamberlain 1961-62

Billy Russell is a legend, a trendsetter, one of the greatest of all time, a pioneer and the ultimate winner. But, by no means should he have taken home the MVP award during the 1961-62 season. Russell put up monster stats that year. His 18.9 points per game, 23.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists would make anyone’s jaw hit the ground. To buffer his MVP case even more, Russell led his Boston Celtics to a 60-20 record.

Yet, it doesn’t matter if Russell’s Celtics won every game that year, there is absolutely no reason why he should have been given the MVP award over Wilt Chamberlain. It may not seem real, but Chamberlain’s stats were as followed: 50.4 points per game, 25.7 rebounds per game and 50.6 percent from the field. Even if you played on an XBOX or PlayStation, those numbers appear impossible to obtain.

To add to his MVP snub case, Chamberlain proved that he was a winning player, leading the Philadelphia Warriors to a 49-31 record. Although his numbers were out of this world, you didn’t hear his most impressive stat of them all, Chamberlain averaged 48.5 minutes per game. Remember, there are only 48 minutes in a basketball game. Essentially, Chamberlain never left the court and never missed any games. Russell had an outstanding year but this is by far the biggest MVP snub in NBA history.

Next. The 25 worst players to ever win Rookie of the Year. dark