Every NBA All-Star Game MVP from 1951 to now

The NBA went back to the East versus the West, and the talk was, once again, making the All-Star Game competitive. Then, we got probably the least-competitive, least-interesting game yet. The East won 211-186, and for some reason, the voters still insisted the MVP come from the winning team. Lillard, who earlier in the weekend repeated as the three-point contest champ, won All-Star Game MVP with 39 points and six assists in 28 minutes. Meanwhile, on the West team, Karl-Anthony Towns had 50 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, but his team lost this oh-so-serious game, so no MVP for him!

In the first half of the 2023 game, LeBron James and Tatum were going at one another. Then, LeBron didn't play in the second half with a finger injury, and suddenly Tatum exploded. The Celtic had a record 24 points in the third quarter, en route to scoring 55 points in the game. This was also an All-Star Game record.

Curry is considered by many the greatest shooter in NBA history, but even he was on fire by his standards in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. He made a whopping 16 three pointers - which would have set a new NBA record if this were a regular-season game - and notched 50 points. Curry fell just two points short of the All-Star Game record.

Giannis was perfect en route to leading Team LeBron to the win over Team Durant. He went 16-for-16 from the field en route to scoring a game-high 35 points. The Greek Freak would add another MVP later that season which was a smidge more important: NBA Finals MVP.

What a run Kawhi has been on. First, he leaves the Spurs for the Raptors and then wins them their first title in franchise history. Then, he pulled off a huge coup and went to the Clippers, getting Paul George to join him. Leonard then added the 2020 NBA All-Star Game MVP to his resume. Kawhi scored 30 points for Team LeBron in the first All-Star Game to feature the Elam Ending.

For the second season in a row, team captains, in this case LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, drafted teams. While the Greek Freak led his team, and the game, in scoring with 38 points, Durant had the most points on Team LeBron with 31. And since LeBron's squad took home the win, that was enough to give KD his second All-Star Game MVP.

After the way the game went the previous two years, the NBA decided to change things. Gone were the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams, replaced with teams picked by two players, in this case LeBron and Steph Curry. The game became more competitive, as Team LeBron won, 148-145. In addition to picking the winning team, LeBron won his third MVP by scoring 29 points and adding 10 rebounds and eight assists.

This year, the West fell from 196 points to 192, but the East lifted its point total from 173 to 182. It was obvious Davis was going to be the MVP of this game. The Brow scored 52 points, which was a new All-Star Game record.

That’s right. Westbrook was the MVP in back-to-back All-Star Games. Even Pettit can’t say that. This was the All-Star Game where everything unraveled. The West won, 196-173. It was fascinating but barely looked like basketball. Russ notched 31 points while adding eight boards, five dimes and five steals.

Russ doesn’t have an off switch, so he even brings some intensity to the All-Star Game. Westbrook didn’t start, but he made the most of his time on the court. He took 28 shots in 25 minutes, scoring a whopping 41 points in a game where nobody else had more than 30.

This game took it to the next level scoring wise, as the final was 163-155, with the East winning. Two guys on the West, Durant and Blake Griffin, had 38 points. However, Irving had 31 for the winners, not to mention 14 assists.

Distributors rarely get love in the All-Star Game. Maybe that’s because guys tend to isolate and attack and go for big dunks. Paul did have 20 points, but his 15 assists probably clinched him this MVP.

By this point, it was de rigueur for both teams to have over 140 points, and complaints about a lack of defense were beginning with gusto. At least this game was competitive, as the West won by three points. Both Durant and LeBron had 36 points, but Durant’s team won, so there you have it on the MVP front.

With this award, Kobe tied Pettit for the most All-Star Game MVPs with four. There’s only one guy currently threatening to join the ranks, and it’s LeBron, who had a triple-double in a losing effort in this one. Bryant one-upped him, though, by scoring 37 points and adding 14 rebounds.

The East eked out a 141-139 win powered by the trio of Wade, James and Bosh, all of whom had over 20 points. Wade had the most of the three with 28, but he also had 11 assists, six boards and five steals. The next year, those three would be All-Stars again but also teammates in Miami.

How much must it have annoyed Kobe to have to share his MVP with Shaq? The two former teammates certainly had their beefs over the years. Also, Shaq earned this MVP during the time he was with the Suns. Remember that? We understand if you don’t.

A lot of guys are gunning for their shots in an All-Star Game, so it must have been nice for LeBron to be playing alongside Jason Kidd in the starting lineup. Technically, Ray Allen had 28 points to LeBron’s 27, but James also had eight rebounds and nine assists. By the way: Cleveland’s LeBron started alongside Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Toronto’s Chris Bosh in this one. We wonder if it gave them any ideas.

It took Kobe a few years to get his second MVP, but he secured it in a blowout win for the West. Amar’e Stoudemire had 29 points off the bench for the West, but Kobe had 31 to go with six assists and six steals. Yes, somehow Bryant actually passed the ball six times in an All-Star Game.

It took a few years, but it was inevitable that LeBron would become an NBA All-Star Game MVP. While Tracy McGrady wowed with 36 points in a losing effort, James didn’t disappoint either. In the year that four Detroit Pistons made the team, it was LeBron who led the way with 29 points for the East.

This is when the East started to look a little lackluster compared to the West. Guys like Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Antawn Jamison were All-Stars. Iverson repped the East, though, and helped lead that side to a win. He had only 15 points but also 10 assists and five steals.

Shaq shared his first MVP, but this one was all his. This was an exciting one, as the West won, 136-132. O’Neal came off the bench, a rare event for the biggest of big men caused by China’s love for Yao Ming, but he still managed 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Here’s when the NBA All-Star Game started seeing a lot of gaudy numbers on the score sheet. This game was won, 155-145, by the West. Both Garnett and Iverson scored over 30 points, but KG had a whopping 37 to go with nine rebounds and five steals. He’s the only Timberwolves player to win this award.

Speaking of guys who fit perfectly into an All-Star Game. Kobe always wanted the ball in his hands, and he was always looking to go for the throat, even in an exhibition game. As such, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised he scored 31 points in this game. We definitely aren’t surprised that we will be seeing his name more later.

Iverson was the perfect player for a game like this. He was flashy and showy and confident. Also, he wasn’t shy about shooting, as he put up 21 shots. Of course, he scored 25 points on all those shots, earning A.I. his All-Star award.

There was no All-Star Game in 1999 due to the lockout, so perhaps the NBA felt the need to double up on MVPs in 2000. O’Neal and Duncan were two of the faces of the 2000s, so neither player winning this award was a surprise. What is a bit of a surprise, though, is that this was Duncan’s only All-Star Game MVP.

Here’s Jordan’s third and final MVP. It was also his last season before retiring…and then returning against with the Wizards. He was a different player then, though. Here he was still capable of scoring 23 points in a game where nobody else had more than 18.

Here’s the last guy on this list who’s almost definitely not a Hall of Famer. Everybody else is either in the Hall, will be someday or is too young to be sure about. The three-point shot was still not a huge weapon back in the ‘90s, which may have hurt Rice as much as anybody. He took seven threes in this game, made four and scored 26 points off the bench.

Jordan came back and picked right up where he left off. His Airness had 20 points, but Shaquille O’Neal, still with Orlando, had 25 points and 10 boards. However, everybody was so happy to see Michael back on the court, so perhaps it isn’t surprising he walked away with the MVP.

In the middle of all these legendary names, Richmond’s sticks out, even if he is technically a Hall of Famer. A lot of people scratch their heads at that too, to be fair. Richmond didn’t even start this game, but he came off the bench to score 23 points, topping all of his more famous associates.

Pippen is forever stuck in Jordan’s shadow, but he was a tremendous player in his own right. He would have been a Hall of Famer with any franchise, and once he also was declared the All-Star Game MVP. Pippen, who was leading the Bulls in the wake of Jordan’s first retirement, notched 29 points in this one.

Here’s another tie, but at least this one makes thematic sense. Stockton and Malone are forever linked due to all their years together with the Jazz. Fittingly enough, this game was held in Utah. Was the fix in? Perhaps, but at least it was only in an All-Star Game.

You remember this one. Magic had retired because he had contracted HIV. He came back solely to play in this game. Johnson scored 25 points, but even if he had not made a bucket this award was probably going to him.

The "Round Mound of Rebound" lived up to his moniker in this one, as Barkley had 22 boards for the East. Yes, this was when he was still a Sixer...before he made his move to Phoenix. He also had 17 points for good measure.

This was an odd choice, if only given the voting history of this award. Yes, Magic led the game with 22 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. However, the East beat the West by a score of 130-113. Perhaps that caused Patrick Ewing to raise an eyebrow, given that he had a double-double to go with five blocks.

Both Jordan and Malone scored 28 points in this game, but the West earned the win. That helped the "Mailman" secure the MVP trophy. To be fair, Malone also had nine rebounds.

You knew you were going to see this name eventually, right? Jordan dominated the NBA for over a decade, and this was around the time he had his coming out party. All eyes were on Jordan as he soared to score 40 points, a massive number even for an All-Star Game.

Look at the roster for these teams, and you will see a ton of Hall of Famers and legends. Magic, Jordan, Bird, Kareem — you name it. Chambers was an injury replacement for Ralph Sampson. He isn’t in the Hall of Fame, and yet it’s Chambers who scored 34 points in this overtime thriller to take home the MVP trophy.

Thomas didn’t wait long to secure his second, and last, All-Star Game MVP. This time, in addition to notching 10 assists to lead the East, Thomas was also the highest scorer, dropping 30 points in leading his team to victory.

Sampson never quite panned out as expected, though he still managed to make the Hall of Fame, even if some question that. The 7-foot-4 giant was arguably born in the wrong era. He could have been Dirk or Durant if given the opportunity, but he still showed his skills in games like this. The Rocket posted a double-double and led all scorers with 24 points.

This was quite the high-scoring affair, as the East beat the West, 154-145. While Erving was once again the leading scorer with 34 points, Thomas served as the point guard for the Eastern Conference, tallying 15 assists to go with his 21 points.

The "Doctor" knew how to put on a show with his dunking, and he certainly entertained the crowd en route to leading the East to the win. In a game loaded with stars, Erving led all scorers with 25 points, some of which certainly came on sweet dunks.

Bird needs no introduction to basketball fans, especially those who fondly remember McDonald’s commercials. He was actually the eighth Celtic to win this award; Archibald was the seventh. Bird was actually outscored by his Celtics teammate Robert Parish, but Bird had 19 points to go with 12 rebounds and five assists.

The man known as "Tiny" got a big award, even if his game wasn’t actually all that big. In fact, Archibald only had nine points to go with his nine assists. This was a three-point game, so one assumes that he came up large late.

The NBA All-Star Game can be a chill affair, so it’s fitting that a guy known as the Ice Man won MVP once. This game went into overtime, which allowed Gervin to play 40 minutes and notch 34 points, a huge number for an All-Star Game at the time.

This was the first All-Star Game without a Knick or Celtic. It had a Nugget in Thompson, though, who scored 25 points in leading the West to a win. That was enough to get him the nod over Julius Erving, who had 29 points.

We have our second non-Hall of Famer and our first Buffalo Brave. Smith’s biggest claim to fame is playing in 906 straight contests, but he also had 27 points in this game to earn the MVP honors.

This would have been a fun game to see. The West won, 125-124, but the Eastern Conference’s Erving was the MVP. Both he and his teammate Bob McAdoo had 30 points, but Dr. J also had 12 rebounds to McAdoo’s 10. Plus, who wasn’t enamored with Erving’s flashy style of play?

People think of Bing as a Piston — he even eventually became mayor of Detroit — but he won his All-Star MVP as a Bullet. It was an odd choice though, as he had only 16 points. Dave Cowens also had 16 points, but he had 16 rebounds to boot. The East won handily, so it’s not like Bing hit a clutch shot late. Who knows what was going through the heads of voters in this one?

Frazier has become known for his smooth announcing skills, and he was certainly smooth in this game. "Clyde" scored 30 points, thanks largely to his ability to get to the line. The Knick attempted 11 free throws and made 10 of them. In a game the East won by six, those shots from the charity stripe counted.

Finally, a player scored over 20 points in an All-Star Game again! Lanier and Spencer Haywood actually both scored more than 20 points, but Lanier had 24 to Haywood’s 23, and Lanier also had 10 rebounds and a more efficient day shooting.

In the early ‘70s, the nature of the NBA All-Star Game clearly changed, as players stopped putting up huge numbers. Cowens led the East to a win in a 104-84 snoozer with 15 points, but he also had 13 rebounds.

The dude is the NBA logo, which is probably a greater accomplishment than being an NBA All-Star Game MVP, but West still happened to take home the trophy. Nobody had more than 15 points in this game, and West had only 13. That included a game-winning shot as time expired though, which earned him the trophy.

We’ve got another one-point game here, with Wilkens’ West earning the win. The Sonic, and future head coaching great, led his team with 21 points...and each one of them ended up counting.

Reed’s most famous game was one he barely played in due to an injury, but he did so much more than that. The Hall of Famer tied Oscar Robertson for the most points for the winning East team, but Reed also had 11 boards.

Robertson closes out the ‘60s with his third and final MVP nod. He didn’t manage a double-double this time, but he scored 24 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Earl Monroe had a case, but the Big O held up the trophy.

Greer, an overlooked Hall of Famer and 10-time All Star, was quite efficient. He played only 17 minutes but managed to score 21 points. His secret? Going a perfect 8-of-8 from the field.

Barry was the third Warrior to be named MVP but the first since the team moved from the Eastern Conference to the West. The master of the underhand free-throw shot absolutely filled up the bucket, as he had 38 points. That includes making six of his eight free throws.

Here we have the first player to be named All-Star Game MVP who didn’t make the Hall of Fame. This was also Smith’s only All-Star Game appearance, and he made it as one of the last reserves. Then he led the East with 24 points.

This was a one-point win for the East, so one assumes Lucas played his part in that. He also had 25 points and 10 rebounds. By the way: Multiple players fouled out in this game. The early All-Star Games were VERY different than the ones now.

The fun thing about Robertson’s MVP wins is that they all came while he was on the Cincinnati Royals. It feels so strange to remember a time when there was an NBA team in Cincinnati. As for the Big O, he had 26 points when nobody else had more than 19, and he threw in 14 rebounds and eight assists too.

Like Chamberlain, his top rival, Russell won only one All-Star Game MVP. Although, given that his game was built around defense, that’s less surprising. This was a close game, and Russell helped the East win, with 19 points, 24 boards and, one assumes, sterling defense.

This is Pettit’s fourth and final All-Star MVP, so by this point there’s not much more that can be said about him. He had 25 points and 27 rebounds, but this really feels like a return to giving the award to a guy on the winning team. After all, Chamberlain had 42 points and 24 rebounds for the losing squad.

This was the first time the All-Star Game really featured gaudy scoring. The West won by a score of 153-131. Pettit, who loved himself an All-Star Game, led with 29 points, but Robertson had 23 to go with 14 assists and nine rebounds. He was the first guy who averaged a triple-double, after all.

Surprisingly, Wilt the Stilt, the man who scored 100 points in a game, was an MVP of an All-Star Game only once. Chamberlain had 23 points, which was actually only third highest in this game, but he also had 25 rebounds.

You might think that a tie for MVP is lame, and, well, you’d have an argument there. Both Pettit, who won his third MVP here, and Baylor played for the West. They were separated by one point, with Pettit having 25 to Baylor’s 24. However, Pettit also had 16 boards and five assists. Can we get a do-over?

For the first time, a player on the losing team was named MVP in Pettit. The choice certainly seemed justified, though. Pettit led the game with 28 points, and once again he was a rebounding machine, snatching 26 boards.

Congratulations to Cousy for becoming the first multi-time All-Star Game MVP. This was a puzzling choice, though. Cousy went 4-of-14 shooting and scored 10 points. Four players on his own team had more points than him. Could this be our first legacy vote?

Get used to seeing Pettit’s name. The Hall of Famer had some gaudy numbers repping the St. Louis Hawks (which back in the ‘50s were considered a “western” team). His 20 points were tops in the game, but he also had a whopping 24 rebounds. That’s a lot of boards.

Hey, look, another Celtic. In fact, Sharman was outscored in this game by his teammate Cousy, who had 20 points. Sharman had only 15, but 10 of them came in the fourth quarter as the East pulled out a 100-91 win. Chalk this one up to recency bias.

The Celtics were dominant in the early days of basketball, so it’s not surprising that Cousy and Ed Macauley, two of the first four MVPs, were both Boston players. Cousy’s name has lasted longer in basketball fans’ minds though. This game went into overtime, and Cousy scored 10 points during bonus basketball. It’s probably easy to see why he was the MVP then.

Mikan wouldn’t have to wait long though. Perhaps the quintessential player from the ‘50s, the lifelong Minneapolis Laker had a whopping 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead the West to its first-ever All-Star Game victory.

Here’s something interesting: The players in this All-Star Game were selected by writers REGARDLESS OF POSITION. That’s something fans want now, but the NBA refuses to let it happen. Things were more progressive in the ‘50s, in this one specific instance at least. Arizin and George Mikan both scored 26 points, but Arizin and the East won, so he was named MVP.

The NBA was in its infancy way back in 1951, but the idea of an All-Star Game existed in sports. Baseball’s All-Star Game was already immensely popular, and the NBA was worried about basketball’s image due to a point-shaving scandal in college hoops. Macauley was the first MVP, as he led the East to a win with a game-high 20 points.