Each year, a new NBA MVP is announced.
But when do they usually announce it?
The NBA usually announces the MVP in May or June. This is when the regular season has just ended, and the playoffs have just started. For the 2022-23 season, the MVP was announced on May 02, 2023 which was Joel Embiid.
We’ve got the data right here if you want to know when the last MVPs were announced. You might also want to know how they select the MVPs.
When is The NBA MVP Announced?
Multiple awards are handed out to teams, players, and coaches in the NBA each season.
Among them is the most awaited and popular award – the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.
So, when does the NBA announce the winner of this award?
The NBA usually announces the awardees, including the MVP, during the playoffs.
As a reference, here’s when the last ten MVPs were announced:
| MVP | Date Announced |
| Joel Embiid (2022-23) | May 02, 2023 |
| Nikola Jokić (2021–22) | May 09, 2022 |
| Nikola Jokić (2020-21) | June 08, 2021 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019-20) | September 18, 2020 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo (2018-19) | June 24, 2019 |
| James Harden (2017-18) | June 25, 2018 |
| Russel Westbrook (2016-17) | June 26, 2017 |
| Stephen Curry (2015-16) | May 10, 2016 |
| Stephen Curry (2014-15) | May 04, 2015 |
| Kevin Durant (2013-14) | May 06, 2014 |
As you can see, the NBA doesn’t have a specific date for the MVP announcement, but they’re pretty close to each other.
That’s because they usually announce them in a set timeframe just after the regular season and early on in the playoffs.
The timeframe is usually set in stone except for rare cases. Such is the case recently with the 2019-20 season, where the NBA was suspended due to COVID.
For the 2022-23 season, the announcement date was on May 02, 2023.
For the 2022-23 NBA season, here are the winners:
Rookie of the Year: Paolo Banchero
Most Improved Player: Lauri Markkanen
Sixth Man of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon
Defensive Player of the Year: Jaren Jackson Jr.
Clutch Player of the Year: De’Aaron Fox
Coach of the Year: Mike Brown
Most Valuable Player: Joel Embiid
Why is The MVP Announced During the Playoffs?
The playoffs usually last around six weeks, from the Play-In to the Conference Semifinals.
The MVP is usually announced during the first four weeks of the playoffs. Although the date is not set in stone, the winner of the awards is generally announced just after the regular season has ended.
So why is this the case?
It’s simply because the awards, including the MVP, only account for the regular season. This means that the NBA doesn’t consider the playoffs in determining the winners of the awards.
This is why the NBA usually announces the winners just after the regular season and during the early weeks of the playoffs.
If you think about it, they can announce all the awardees after the season has ended. But since they don’t include the playoffs in these awards, there’s really no reason to delay the announcement.
What is the NBA MVP?
The NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is a player’s most prestigious award in the regular season.
It’s an award that’s been given yearly since the 1955-56 season.
Simply put, it’s an award that recognizes the best player during the regular season in that year.
Most NBA players aim to bag this award even once since it has many advantages.
Not only will you be more famous, but you’ll also increase your value as a player. This will, in turn, lead to a higher salary.
As prestigious as this award is, did you know that a handful of players won them multiple times? These awards aren’t given easily, meaning these players were truly dominant.
Here are the 10 players with the most MVP awards:
| Player | No. of MVPs |
| 1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 6 |
| 2. Michael Jordan | 5 |
| 3. Bill Russell | 5 |
| 4. LeBron James | 4 |
| 5. Wilt Chamberlain | 4 |
| 6. Larry Bird | 3 |
| 7. Magic Johnson | 3 |
| 8. Moses Malone | 3 |
| 9. Nikola Jokić | 2 |
| 10. Giannis Antetokounmpo | 2 |
How Does the NBA Select the MVP?
The NBA MVP award is one of the most coveted awards each year.
After all, the award officially recognizes the best player among 450+ best basketball players worldwide!
So who doesn’t want to get that award, even just once?
But the thing is, who does select the NBA MVP each year? And what criteria do they use for judging?
Until the 1979-80 season, the NBA players selected the MVP. Each player would get one vote, and the most votes would win the award.
But since the 1980-91 NBA season, the MVP award is now decided by a panel of 100 broadcasters and sportswriters from the USA and Canada.
They would cast their votes for the first up to the fifth place, and each place would have an equivalent score:
- 1st place votes – 10 points
- 2nd place votes – 7 points
- 3rd place votes – 5 points
- 4th place votes – 3 points
- 5th place votes – 1 point
They will then tally all the scores, and the player with the most points will win the NBA MVP Award.
The NBA doesn’t set criteria that the panel members will use to cast their votes. Instead, they let them decide based on their criteria.
But there are unofficial criteria that most members will use to cast their votes:
- The player’s overall stats for the regular season should be the best in the league
- Be a part of the top 10 teams in the NBA by regular season record
- Advanced statistics include FG%, +/-, Efg%, TO Ratio, FTA Rate, etc.
Basically, the MVP is usually one of the best scorers in the league with respectable stats. Plus, their team should be one of the top 5 teams in the NBA entering the playoffs.
Should the MVP Award Include Post-Season Performance?
Historically, the NBA MVP award didn’t account for the playoffs.
Partly because the NBA is divided into two halves: the regular season and the playoffs. This means that there are regular-season awards and playoff awards.
But the most compelling reason is that there are two MVP awards in the playoffs now – Conference MVP and Finals MVP.
The Conference MVP award was introduced during the 2022 NBA Playoffs. For this award, there are two winners for the Western and Eastern Conferences.
They’re named the Larry Bird Trophy for the Eastern and the Magic Johnson Trophy for the Western Conference.
The NBA Finals MVP award started in 1969 and has since been used to honor the best player in the Finals.
So although it would’ve made sense to include the playoffs in the NBA MVP Award, now it’s not. Thanks to the new Conference MVP Award, the NBA MVP Award may be a regular season award for years to come.
Final Thoughts
The NBA MVP award is among the most prestigious awards. The winner of this award is usually announced just after the regular season.
This means that they are usually either in May or June. It’s the last regular season award to be announced, which is done to build up hype.
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