The 20 best NBA players to never win an individual award

Stockton is one of the all-time greats, as the historical NBA leaderboards show: Stockton has more career assists and steals than any player in history. This productivity only landed him in the periphery of awards conversations, though. The closest he ever got was top-10 finishes in MVP and Defensive Player Of The Year voting a few times.

In 1992, Drexler finished a distant second in MVP voting behind Michael Jordan. That's kind of the story of his career: He was one of the best shooting guards of his generation, but his legacy was overshadowed by that of MJ, who entered the league at around the same time. With ten career All-Star selections, though, Clyde doesn't have too much to complain about.

Gervin came really close to getting an MVP trophy in 1978, finishing just points behind the winner, Bill Walton. He finished in second place the next year, too, although by a much wider margin. What "The Iceman" can proudly say is that he led the NBA in scoring four times.

In Larry Bird's 1986 MVP season (one of three in a row), 'Nique came second in voting for the award. Leading the league in scoring that year wasn't enough for him to take home the prize. His teams never enjoyed much playoff success, meaning he never got a real shot at a Finals MVP trophy either.

Miller was a dangerous scorer, especially in the postseason. While his career-best scoring average was 24 points a game, he averaged at least 25 a night in the playoffs five times. As far as individual awards, those eluded him aside from some All-Star and All-NBA selections.

An All-Star for the entirety of the 1970s, Hayes was one of the greats of his time. Aside from the championship he won, he doesn't have any trophies in his cabinet. He does have the rare distinction, though, of leading the NBA in scoring as a rookie.

Many NBA fans might not have guessed that, in terms of total points, English was the NBA's leading scorer of the entire 1980s. From the 1980 to '89 seasons, he averaged a hair under 26 points a game and only played fewer than 80 games a year once (even then, he played 78). But, he was never able to get over the hump to claim an individual honor.

In the late 2000s, it would not have been outrageous to say Williams was the best point guard in the world, or that he was at least in the conversation. From 2008 to 2011, he put up averages of 19 points and 10 assists a game, mostly for some successful Jazz teams. His MVP consideration ceiling, though, was finishing ninth in voting in 2010.

There was a five-season stretch where Mullin was an absolute menace. From 1989 to 1983, he averaged just under 26 points a night. He made an All-NBA First Team during that stretch, but was not a serious MVP contender considering Michael Jordan was doing Michael Jordan stuff that year.

Perhaps Frazier's two best chances at an individual award were in 1970 and 1973, when his Knicks won NBA titles. He had a great Finals in 1970, averaging 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists a game for the series, but teammate Willis Reed ended up with the Finals MVP trophy. It was the same story in 1973, too.

Klay is, at the very least, one of the five best shooters of all time. His longtime teammate Steph Curry, though, is the greatest ever. Being overshadowed by that kind of generational talent makes it hard to consider Thompson for any sort of award.

DeRozan played in an era full of stars playing his own position, but he was quietly one of the most consistently productive ones. From the 2014 to '25 seasons, he averaged 23 points per game, including two peak seasons of over 27 points per night. During those two years, though, DeRozan's teams weren't serious contenders, making it tough to award him any hardware for his stellar play.

Aldridge was routinely a 20-and-8 guy for years and an All-Star for most of the 2010s. He was never a league-defining guy, though. Aside from some extremely fringe MVP consideration for a few seasons, Aldridge wasn't a big awards guy.

In the 2000s, it could at least be argued that Johnson was the best isolation scorer in basketball. He never made the NBA Finals, but he was on some successful Hawks teams that made decent postseason runs. In the regular season, the closest Johnson came to winning an award was making an All-NBA team in 2010.

Few NBA players could score more effectively than Beal, who averaged at least 30 a night for two straight seasons in 2020 and 2021. The issue is that he never spent much time on very good teams. So, come awards season, Beal was not under consideration.

If the MVP award were fan-voted like All-Star selections were, Yao would have likely won every year he was in the NBA. But, while Yao's career was great, injuries ultimately restricted his ceiling. As far as awards, he was a very close second to Amar'e Stoudemire for ROY in 2003.

In 1999, Darrell Armstrong was the overwhelming winner of the Sixth Man Of The Year award. 'Sheed came in second, though. That was his best chance to claim an individual award, which he never ended up doing.

Marion was uniquely versatile and could impact every facet of the game. Without one standout, league-best skill, though, he was typically cast in a more supporting role. He had a strong Finals in 2011, but not better than teammates Jason Terry and Nowitzki, the latter of whom won the Finals MVP trophy.

Mo made a few All-Star teams in his day as the Sixers' key point guard of the '80s. He was known as a standout defender, and while he never won a Defensive Player Of The Year award, he came close a few times. From 1983 to 1985, Cheeks was in the mix for DPOY, finishing in the top 5 in voting each year.

Lowry was one of his era's defining point guards. This is due in part to being on good teams that were routinely in the championship mix (winning with the Raptors in 2019), and in part to Lowry being a capable floor general and pesky defender. Despite his value, his numbers and personal success never justified consideration for any award, though.