Best Players to Never Finish in the Top Five of MVP Voting

Editor’s Note — This article was originally published in May 2021 and does not reflect the 2021 and 2022 MVP results.

I had originally planned to devote the bulk of this synopsis to reviewing the past three articles and identifying a few winners from the project, but my attention kept getting diverted to a much more interesting thread. As a result, I ended up deciding to provide only a brief overview of the past three articles and instead devote the bulk of this space to addressing the elephant in the room… There are a TON of notable players who never earned a top-five MVP finish and have been conspicuously unaccounted for in this series. I found this plethora of missing legends and all-stars to be fascinating and felt that there was much more to dissect with them than the players who featured prominently in the recent articles. As such, I’ll provide a succinct list of the winners of the past three articles below, but I’ll then focus on answering the more pressing question that has resulted from the past three articles: Who is the best player in NBA history to never finish in the top five of MVP voting?

The Winners

1. Mel Hutchins, Bob Lanier, Nate Thurmond, and Lenny Wilkens — Not only did these four individuals never win MVP, but they also never made an All-NBA team. The absence of those two accolades relegates these players to the recesses of many historical retrospectives of the game’s greats, but this exercise thankfully shined a small light on their accomplishments. Thurmond and Wilkens hold the strange distinction of finishing second in MVP voting yet not appearing on an All-NBA team the same season. Similarly confounding, Hutchins finished fourth in MVP voting in 1956 with nine first-place votes, the most among any center that season, yet finished behind Neil Johnston and Clyde Lovellette at center in All-NBA voting. It feels counterintuitive, but perhaps in all three of their cases they would’ve gained more historical notoriety if their high MVP finishes were swapped for All-NBA spots. Lanier’s situation isn’t as muddled though, as he finished third in MVP voting behind fellow centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob McAdoo in 1974 and fourth behind Kareem and Bill Walton in 1977, with these players also blocking him from the All-NBA team in both instances. While Lanier was undoubtedly a fantastic player, the logjam of positional competition that prevented him from individual accolades likely also prevented him from securing a more revered place in NBA history. Lanier was one of the best players to miss out on the NBA’s Fifty Greatest list in 1996 and I feel that it is likely he would’ve edged onto the actual list if he had even a single instance of award recognition¹. It isn’t much of a consolation prize, but I’m happy he gets a bit of acknowledgment in this series and top spot on this list of winners.
2. Players with multiple top-five appearances but no wins — When reviewing MVP history, it is understandable that most people will simply peruse the list of winners and subconsciously discount the non-winners as lower caliber players. Hopefully this exercise illustrated that, despite never winning, the likes of West, Baylor, Ewing, Gervin, Howard, and Paul were regularly in the mix for the award and often at the same level as their MVP-winning counterparts.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James — I think it’s worth highlighting again just how incredible it is that Kareem and LeBron have such a substantial lead in top-five MVP appearances. It is extraordinarily unlikely for any player to have a career as long as these two, let alone continue to be a top-five talent after fifteen years of wear and tear. I think the output and longevity of these two is often overlooked, but they’re both incredibly interesting outliers.

Now let’s move on to this week’s big question about the best player to never finish top five. Obviously, this question is subjective, but I’ll pull info from a few objective categories to try to capture a broad list of the most prominent players not to feature. The categories include: The players with the most career win shares not to earn top-five recognition; the players with the most MVP award shares not to earn top-five recognition; the best individual seasons not to earn top-five recognition; and the players with the most top-ten appearances without a single top-five appearance. I had also planned to highlight the NBA’s official 1996 list of the Fifty Greatest Players of All-Time since that is one of the few formal recognitions of the league’s best players, but I opted against it due to the list being 25 years old at this point and not including several notable modern stars as a result². The areas covered below paint a pretty good picture of the players most unfortunate to miss out on legitimate MVP consideration. However, this won’t cover players prior to 1956 when the MVP award was implemented. As mentioned in prior articles, players like George Mikan, Neil Johnston, Alex Groza, Joe Fulks, and Ed Macauley are extremely likely to have had a top-five finish if the award had existed during their primes. As such, they’ll be excluded from this conversation. So, let’s dive in and figure out who takes top spot.

Most Career Win Shares³

1. John Stockton — 207.70 Win Shares (6th most all-time)
2. Reggie Miller — 174.40 (15th)
3. Paul Pierce — 150.04 (22nd)
4. Ray Allen — 145.08 (27th)
5. Pau Gasol — 144.07 (28th)
6. Adrian Dantley — 134.22 (35th)
7. Walt Bellamy — 130.05 (37th)
8. Vince Carter — 125.27 (40th)
9. Shawn Marion — 124.91 (42nd)
10. Buck Williams — 120.09 (46th)

Admittedly, win shares can be a flawed mechanic for gauging a player’s value, but it is one of the best approaches to balance players across eras, so it serves as a solid jumping-off point for us here. Nevertheless, it should be noted that players with longer careers will, obviously, earn more win shares. This means that players with brief but blazing primes are less likely to feature, and modern players will benefit due to the medical advancements that have enabled contemporary players to thrive deeper into their 30s. However, this disparity doesn’t substantially impact this exercise, as players with low win shares but lofty peaks like David Thompson and Bill Walton won’t be able to feature anyway due to their having earned top-five MVP appearances during said primes.

Twelve players from the top fifty of all-time career win shares never earned a top-five MVP appearance. More incredibly, forty-four⁴ of the top 100 never earned a top-five MVP appearance. There are five active players in the top 100 who have never earned a top-five nod: LaMarcus Aldridge⁵, Andre Iguodala, Kyle Lowy, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford. DeAndre Jordan and Damian Lillard are also about to break into the top 100 over the next season or so, at the expense of Kevin Johnson and Chris Mullin.

John Stockton runs away with top spot in this exercise. Stockton received at least one MVP vote in eleven different seasons, but his best finish was seventh place in 1989. Two factors worked against Stockton when it came to MVP voting. First, I’m sure there was some element of little man bias in thinking that short point guards simply couldn’t impact the game in the same way that a towering center or burly power forward could. Second, there was an absolute logjam of talent fighting for the MVP from the late 80s through the mid-90s. All of Jordan, Magic, Barkley, Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Barkley, and Karl Malone regularly finished ahead of Stockton and it was unlikely for him to dislodge these superstars. Regardless, Stockton’s counting stats, advanced stats, defense, and team wins were regularly among league-best, so it is still disappointing to see that voters couldn’t manage to sneak him into the top-five at least once.

Of the other players on the list, Reggie Miller, Pau Gasol, and Walt Bellamy never made the top ten of MVP voting, let alone the top five. Even more shocking, Gasol never received a single MVP vote in his entire career. Not a single voter over his entire career even placed Gasol fifth on their ballot. That’s shocking! Each of the others on the above list made the top ten just once in their careers, with Paul Pierce, Buck Williams, and Adrian Dantley each achieving a seventh-place finish to tie Stockton for the highest of the bunch. So, what would it look like if we focused solely on top-ten appearances?

Most Top-Ten MVP Appearances

• Five Top-Ten Appearances — John Stockton
• Four Top-Ten Appearances — Mark Price
• Three Top-Ten Appearances — LaMarcus Aldridge, Artis Gilmore, Amare Stoudemire, Jack Twyman, Ben Wallace
• Two Top-Ten Appearances — Alex English, Manu Ginobili, Cliff Hagan, Tom Heinsohn, Kevin Johnson, Marques Johnson, Bob Love, Jack Sikma

Unfortunately, though this is technically a subjective exercise, there are several flaws that cause the results in this section to be misleading. First, the 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons had a top five only, meaning that top-ten-caliber players from those seasons are at a disadvantage here. Additionally, in some seasons, a single fourth or fifth place vote was enough to propel a player into the top ten. Although these finishes are technically in the top ten, it isn’t necessarily reflective of a top ten caliber season. Lastly, I manually counted these results, so it’s possible I simply missed an entry!

Anyhow, John Stockton takes top spot again as the only player to finish in the top ten of MVP voting five times without ever breaching the top five. Surprisingly, not a single other player from the list in the previous section managed to attain more than one top-ten finish. As such, we’ve practically got a whole new crop of fresh faces here.

I was surprised to find Mark Price as the sole individual with four top-ten appearances, as I had expected this list to be littered with hall of fame players. Nevertheless, Price is certainly deserving of recognition, as his prime years from 1989 through 1994 resulted in stellar advanced numbers and per possession stats, as well as some of the best pre-LeBron seasons in Cavaliers history. Discounting his injury-shortened 1990 season, the Cavaliers averaged 51 wins during his peak years alongside the likes of Brad Daugherty, Ron Harper, and Hot Rod Williams. He finished as high as seventh in MVP voting in 1992 and had he not been hurt in 1990 then there may have been a good possibility that he would be tied with Stockton for first place in this section.

A couple things jumped out about the group tied for third with three top-ten appearances. First, LaMarcus Aldridge is the only player on the list to accomplish top-ten finishes with two separate teams, finishing tenth in 2014 and seventh in 2015 with the Trail Blazers, then ninth in 2018 with the Spurs. This is an underrated accomplishment and speaks to Aldridge’s adaptability and respect. Secondly, Artis Gilmore won the ABA MVP in 1972 and was runner-up for the award in 1974. Of all the ABA stars to gain subsequent success in the NBA, Gilmore may be the most under-recognized. His ABA numbers are as eye-popping as his hairstyles and, if I had to bet, I’d wager that Gilmore would’ve had at least two additional top-ten MVP appearances in the NBA if he had spent his first five pro seasons there instead of the ABA.

Most Career MVP Shares

1. Alex English — 0.167 (107th most MVP shares all-time)
2. John Stockton — 0.161 (108th)
3. Adrian Dantley — 0.151 (110th)
4. Marques Johnson — 0.118 (114th)
5. Mark Price — 0.107 (115th)
6. Jack Sikma — 0.103 (116th)
7. Tie — Cliff Hagan — 0.099 (118th)
8. Tie — Bob Love — 0.099 (118th)
9. Tie — Shawn Kemp — 0.088 (120th)
10. Tie — Chris Mullin — 0.088 (120th)

Here’s where things get particularly interesting, as MVP shares reflect a direct correlation in how much MVP consideration a player earned throughout their career. We also have a new player in top spot, as Alex English nudges ahead of Stockton. I found this surprising given Stockton’s superior haul of top-ten finishes, but this result is indicative of the flukiness of MVP voting. For example, Alex English’s eighth place finish in 1986 had nearly double the total award share of Stockton’s seventh place finish in 1989, meaning that English received far more votes in 1986 than Stockton did in 1989 despite having a lower finishing spot. Similarly, English finished outside of the top ten in 1982 and 1985 yet had a greater award share in each of those seasons than Stockton in two of the seasons in which he finished top ten (1990, 1993). Altogether, these peculiarities result in English taking top spot despite having fewer top-ten finishes.

English is certainly worthy of the accolade. English didn’t emerge as a top-tier talent until his trade to the Nuggets in 1980, at which point he was already 26 years old. English made up for lost time though, as his run from 1981 to 1988 resulted in a barrage of buckets. English earned at least one MVP vote in six of his nine prime seasons in Denver. He averaged 27 PPG in that time frame on 56% true shooting. Detractors may haphazardly claim that this scoring merely resulted from the up tempo run-and-gun offenses of Coach Doug Moe’s Nuggets teams, but that argument feels reductive. English was the engine that made this offense fly and his team’s winning records and the MVP recognition that came with it reflect English’s reputation around the league as a star.

Best Individual Seasons by Win Shares⁶

1. Walt Bellamy — 1962 (16.25 Win Shares / 69th Best Individual Season of All-Time Among All Players)
2. John Stockton — 1989 (15.61 / 90th)
3. Elton Brand — 2006 (14.81 / 126th)
4. Pau Gasol — 2011 (14.81 / 132nd)
5. Tie — Adrian Dantley — 1984 (14.61 / 137th)
6. Tie — Amare Stoudemire — 2008 (14.61 / 137th)
7. Amare Stoudemire — 2005 (14.60 / 139th)
8. Shawn Marion — 2006 (14.57 / 142nd)
9. Chet Walker — 1972 (14.48 / 145th)
10. John Stockton — 1990 (14.44 / 148th)

Walt Bellamy’s monster 1962 season is well-documented as one of the best rookie seasons ever, though his Chicago Packers team is also widely considered to be one of the worst teams ever. As such, it is tough to make an MVP case for Bellamy here. Unfortunately, though he continued to post great stats throughout his career, he faced some scrutiny for failing to replicate his rookie year feats. This accusation is unfair, but it likely still prevented him from legitimately challenging for the honor each year. Furthermore, some sources, including former teammates like Walt Frazier, paint Bellamy as a stat hog or a good stats/bad team player with lackluster motivation. Bellamy’s teams did tend to be bad to mediocre, which certainly didn’t help his case, though it should be noted that he was a prominent player on the gold medal 1960 U.S.A. basketball team. In the end, Bellamy did receive MVP votes in three separate seasons to go along with his occasionally eye-popping stats.

Elton Brand’s 2006 season has always fascinated me. He played six full seasons with the Clippers and five of them resulted in losing records. Brand consistently posted strong numbers despite the losing, and advanced stats were particularly friendly for him with defensive metrics portraying him as an underrated post defender. Regardless, the losing prevented Brand from being much more than an All-Star level player. And yet, everything aligned in 2006 and the Clippers delivered a fun, winning product on the court⁷. Brand was the straw that stirred the drink and posted some of the best numbers of his career. The Clips took the 7 Seconds or Less Suns to seven games in the conference semifinals, only to promptly return to mediocrity the following season. Unfortunately, a 2007 Achilles’ tendon injury prevented Brand from reaching his 2006 heights again. Still, though never a superstar, Brand’s accomplishments in the 2000s remain underappreciated.

Speaking of those Suns, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire earn those Phoenix squads three spots in this top ten. Marion and Stoudemire were incredibly productive during this era, though Nash gobbled up much of the MVP recognition and left Marion and Stoudemire unlikely to breach the top five. Nevertheless, each player was integral to the Suns’ success, particularly Marion’s malleability on defense.

Just for fun, before closing the article let’s take a look at the best individual seasons of all-time if we didn’t exclude players who did earn a top-five MVP appearance⁸.

1. Wilt Chamberlain — 1963 (20.94 Win Shares / 11th Best Individual Season of All-Time)
2. Walt Bellamy — 1962 (16.25 / 69th)
3. Kevin Garnett — 2005 (16.11 / 72nd)
4. Tie — Chris Paul — 2015 (16.08 / 74th)
5. Tie — Charles Barkley — 1989 (16.08 / 74th)
6. Walt Frazier — 1971 (15.62 / 88th)
7. John Stockton — 1989 (15.61 / 90th)
8. Karl Malone — 1993 (15.38 / 99th)
9. Karl Malone — 1996 (15.18 / 111th)
10. David Robinson — 1990 (15.06 /115th)

Bellamy’s 1962 campaign and Stockton’s 1989 are the only two to remain in the top ten with the adjusted criteria, but the rest of the entries from the previous iteration are bumped out.

I previously touched on the craziness of Wilt’s 1963 season failing to earn a top-five finish⁹, but Kevin Garnett’s 2005 season is almost as crazy considering that he didn’t even make an All-NBA team! KG’s T-Wolves achieved 44 wins, but this was supremely disappointing for a team expected to contend for the title. Still, this was a winning record, and KG led the league in just about every advanced stat and grabbed the rebounding crown. I’m not sure how this didn’t warrant a Third Team All-NBA slot. Lastly, I also mentioned this previously here, but Frazier not receiving a single MVP vote in 1971 is criminal.

Conclusion

That was a lot of info to absorb, but I’ve come away from it all with three conclusions:

1. John Stockton has the best case for being the best player to never finish in the top-five of MVP voting — The only argument against this is Alex English’s slight edge in MVP shares, though Stockton is close enough behind him that I think his superior finishes in the other categories make up for it. Altogether, not only did Stockton finish top two in each of the four categories used in this exercise, nobody else even appeared in all four categories¹⁰. Throw in the fact that he appeared on the NBA’s Fifty Greatest Players list ahead of the other contenders and Stockton looks like the obvious choice.
2. The players with the next best cases for the claim are Adrian Dantley, Alex English, Marques Johnson, and Mark Price — These four have the most well-rounded arguments for top spot ahead of Stockton. Each of them hold their own in terms of traditional stats, advanced stats, and MVP shares. Also, with the exception of Dantley, they led winning teams throughout their primes.
3. It’s really tough to balance recency bias — I really struggled with how to evaluate Reggie Miller, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Pau Gasol, and Vince Carter, as all feature prominently in the career win shares category and all are generally considered by many basketball fans to be among the greats of the game. In fact, it isn’t unusual to see them pop up in various rankings of the game’s greatest ever players ahead of the likes of Dantley, English, Marques, and Price. However, I struggle to reconcile their lack of MVP recognition. How high can someone rank in the list of all-time greats if they couldn’t regularly crack the top ten of MVP voting? Perhaps top 50? Top 75? Similarly, does a single top-ten finish in the 00s or 10s outweigh a couple top-five finishes in the 50s, 60s, or 70s? Does a fifteen-year career of top-fifteen-level output matter more than a ten-year career with a brief peak of top-five-level output? Reggie and Ray were two of my favorite players and I tend towards thinking that they’re lack of MVP consideration resulted from a misunderstanding of their value, but perhaps I’m just biased. Altogether, we’re left with the disappointing conclusion that these are simply unanswerable questions, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to debate.

That’ll do it for this week! Our next couple articles will continue the MVP theme, but will approach it from some quirky angles. Until then, take care!

¹ It may not be an award, but immortalization in Kareem’s famous quote in Airplane! is a pretty good alternative.

² Six players from the list never earned a top-five MVP spot — Dave DeBusschere, Hal Greer, Earl Monroe, John Stockton, and James Worthy. George Mikan technically never received top five recognition, but that’s solely due to the absence of the award during his career.

³ Stats as of 5/13/21

⁴ This doesn’t include Ed Macauley (85th all-time) and George Mikan (66th), as both likely would have had a top five appearance if the award existed during their primes.

⁵ Aldridge actually retired very abruptly in the weeks before this article’s publication.

⁶ Again, this doesn’t include pre-1956 players. If we did include from this group, then George Mikan would take first, second, and fourth places, Alex Groza would take an additional two, and Bob Feerick, Joe Fulks, and Neil Johnston would take one each. Just another reminder that were were some easy MVP-worthy gems in those years.

⁷ Seriously, this team was a blast. Along with Brand, the Clips boasted Sam Cassell, Cuttino Mobley, Corey Maggette, Chris Kaman, and Vladimir Radmanovic. This team could both shoot and bruise in the paint. They were a truly great one season wonder.

⁸ Again, no pre-1956 players here.

⁹ To reiterate, Wilt missing out on MVP this season is totally justified given how poorly his team played, but I still struggle to wrap my head around the fact that the sheer volume of his stats couldn’t even get him into the top five. That being said, it’s extremely difficult to find a player from that season’s top five who could easily be dislodged to make space for Wilt. The easiest case would probably be against Jerry West since he only played 55 games that year, but the 1963 Lakers were 42–13 in those games with West and a mere 11–14 without. In the end, Wilt’s 45/24/3 stat line misses out.

¹⁰ Adrian Dantley is the only other player to have appeared in three of the four categories, only missing out on having multiple top ten appearances.