MVP Awards Trivia Quiz

Answer: Michael Jordan

Although Michael Jordan won the award five times, he could only string together two wins at a time in 1991 and 1992. Larry Bird won the MVP a total of three times all back-to-back in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Bill Russell won a total of five times. The first time in 1958 and in 1965 for the last time.

In between he won it three consecutive years, in 1961, 1962 and 1963. Wilt Chamberlain won the award a total of four times, the first in 1960 and then back-to-back in 1966, 1967 and 1968.

Answer: Lebron James

In 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2011-12, 2012-13 seasons Lebron James became only the second player in NBA history to win the REGULAR SEASON MVP award two years in a row twice. Magic Johnson won the regular season MVP five times but only once in consecutive years. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant won the award only once each.

Answer: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

In addition to the two Finals MVP awards, the first with the Milwaukee Bucks and the second with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar earned six Regular Season MVPs during his 20 year career. James Worthy, who also played for the Lakers, won the Finals MVP once in 1988. Bill Walton, also a center, played for the Portland Trail Blazers and won the Finals MVP once in 1977. Isiah Thomas played for the Detroit Pistons and won the Finals MVP once in 1990.

Answer: Moses Malone

Moses Malone won two regular season MVP awards with the Houston Rockets during the 1978-79 and 1981-82 seasons, then after being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers he won again in the 1982-83 season. Isiah Thomas was drafted by and played his entire 13 year career with the Detroit Pistons and never won a regular season MVP but did win a finals MVP in 1990. Reggie Miller was drafted by and played for the Indiana Pacers his entire 18 year career and never won an MVP. David Robinson was drafted by and played for the San Antonio Spurs his entire 14 year career and he won the 1995 regular season MVP.

Answer: Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to NBA championship wins six times and was named MVP in each of those championships. In addition to that he was named the regular season MVP in 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998. Shaquille O'Neal won the finals MVP three times, in consecutive years from 2000 through 2002. Tim Duncan won the finals' MVP twice in 1999 and 2003. Hakeem Olajuwon won the finals MVP twice in 1994 and 1995, in between Michael Jordan's winning years.

Answer: Earvin "Magic" Johnson

Larry Bird played college ball for Indiana State, John Stockton played for Gonzaga and Julius Erving played for the University of Massachusetts, none of which won the NCAA title during their college years. Magic Johnson played for Michigan State for two years and they won the NCAA title in his final year, defeating Indiana State, Larry Bird's team. Magic Johnson played for the L.A. Lakers his entire career and they won five NBA championships while he was there. Larry Bird played for Boston Celtics who won three NBA championships while he played for them. John Stockton played for the Utah Jazz who did not win an NBA title during his years with them. Julius Erving played for the Philadelphia 76ers when they won the NBA championship in 1983. He never participated in the Olympics because only amateurs were allowed to play during the years he would have been eligible. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and John Stockton were all on the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team" that won gold for the USA, thus completing Magic Johnson's sweep of the so called "triple crown" of basketball.

Answer: Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett played for the Minnesota Timberwolves 13 seasons from 1995 to 2007 before going to the Boston Celtics for six seasons from 2007 to 2013. After playing for the Brooklyn Nets for a year and a half he returned to Minnesota for his 20th year in the NBA. Glenn Robinson played for Purdue before being drafted as the #1 overall pick in 1994 by the Milwaukee Bucks. Wayne Gretzky was a hockey player and Albert Pujols a major league baseball player. Neither of them ever played basketball professionally.

Answer: Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala

Stephen Curry, nicknamed the "Baby-Faced Assassin" was the regular season MVP and his teammate, Andre Iguodala, an eleven year veteran, was named the finals MVP. Both played for the Golden State Warriors and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers for the championship in 2015. Lebron James and Kyrie Irving played for Cleveland. James Hardin and Dwight Howard played for the Houston Rockets who were defeated in the 2015 semi-finals by Golden State. Pinky and The Brain are cartoon mice and a little short to play basketball.

Answer: Steve Nash

Steve Nash won the regular season MVP in back-to-back years and was the APG (assists per game) leader in both 2005 and 2006 but the Suns never won a championship while he played with them. Kobe Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers during 2005 and 2006. Charles Barkley played for the Phoenix Suns but had already retired before 2005. Sammy Sosa played baseball in the major leagues.

Answer: Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson also won the scoring title four times in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005. During the famous practice rant aired on ESPN in 2002 the word practice was repeated 24 times. He was upset at being criticized for not attending a practice session with his team. Tim Duncan, always the soft spoken gentleman, has rarely complained about anything in public. Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley were both known for speaking their minds and both were seen doing just that on the TV show "Inside the NBA.