NBA awards are trivia staples. Whether it's naming every MVP winner or knowing who won Sixth Man of the Year, award history is one of the most testable areas of basketball knowledge. Here's what you need to know.
Most Valuable Player (MVP)
The MVP award has been given since the 1955-56 season. Some key facts:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record with 6 MVPs
- Bill Russell and Michael Jordan each won 5
- LeBron James has won 4 MVPs, but his last came in 2013
- Nikola Jokic became the first player to win three consecutive MVPs (2021-2023)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo won back-to-back MVPs in 2019 and 2020
- Stephen Curry is the only unanimous MVP (2016)
- Only one player has won MVP and not made the Basketball Hall of Fame: Derrick Rose (2011)
Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY)
The DPOY award started in 1982-83. Trivia-relevant facts:
- Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace each won 4 times
- Rudy Gobert won 4 times as well, tying the record
- Hakeem Olajuwon is the only player to win both MVP and DPOY in the same season (1993-94)
- Michael Jordan won DPOY once (1988), proving his dominance on both ends
Rookie of the Year
The ROY award goes back to 1952-53. Notable winners:
- Wilt Chamberlain won it in 1960 after averaging 37.6 points and 27 rebounds as a rookie
- LeBron James won unanimously in 2004
- Ben Simmons controversially won in 2018, two years after being drafted (he missed his first season with injury)
- Michael Jordan won over Hakeem Olajuwon in 1985
Sixth Man of the Year
Given since 1982-83, this award goes to the best player coming off the bench:
- Jamal Crawford is the only three-time winner
- Kevin McHale won the first two ever awarded (1984, 1985)
- James Harden won it in 2012 before becoming a starter and MVP candidate in Houston
- Manu Ginobili never won the award despite being the most famous sixth man in modern NBA history
Finals MVP
Created in 1969, Finals MVP is the most prestigious individual playoff award:
- Michael Jordan won 6 Finals MVPs — one for each championship
- LeBron James has 4
- Tim Duncan has 3
- Magic Johnson won it as a 20-year-old rookie in 1980
- Andre Iguodala won it in 2015 over Stephen Curry, which remains controversial
- Kawhi Leonard is the youngest Finals MVP (22 years old in 2014)
Most Improved Player
MIP winners often become trivia questions because their improvement arcs are surprising:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo won MIP in 2017, two years before his first MVP
- Jimmy Butler won in 2015 after jumping from 13 to 20 points per game
- Pascal Siakam won in 2019 and then helped Toronto win the championship
Awards as Trivia Strategy
Knowing award winners gives you a huge edge in trivia games. In Who Am I?, clues often reference awards. In 2 Truths 1 Lie, fake statements frequently involve wrong award attributions — claiming a player won DPOY when they actually won MIP, or saying someone won 3 MVPs when they won 2.
The award winners tell the story of the NBA era by era. Learning them isn't just good trivia strategy — it's a way to understand how the league values different kinds of excellence.