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The Best Player in the NBA Every Year Since 2000



The Best Player in the NBA Every Year Since 2000

So, we’re now officially a quarter century into this millennium. So, here’s who’s been the best player in the NBA each of the last 25 years. Starting with Shaq, who yeah, even though AI won the MVP in 01, he was the best player that season. Now, it seems a little crazy on paper that Shaq only ever won one MVP until you go through it and I really think Tim Duncan was just a slightly better player in a lot of these seasons except for 2004 Kevin Garnett’s nearly unanimous MVP season. These two years are the hardest. And I’m not ready to just write off the Nash MVP years, even though I do think Kobe was probably better. But by 2008, it’s LeBron James. And then it’s still LeBron James during his four years in South Beach. And then it’s still LeBron James during his second stint in Cleveland. Look, is there a 2016 Steph argument? Of course. Is there a 2018 Harden argument? Of course. I think Kawhai took the crown in 2019. I think it then shifted to Giannis for his second MVP year. But for the last 5 years, it’s been Nicole Yokic.

48 Comments

  1. What a stupid list. Kobe the best player in the league in that 2nd 3 str8 finals run, meanwhile leclown was gettin shit on by boston and orlando who kobe destryed in the finals winning b2b rings. Too much leflop dick sucking bro. Ur embarrassing urself

  2. dude u do basketball content for a living and you still dont understand that its a regular season award. Anyone who watched DRose's regular season MVP year while it was happening saw the Bulls beat his heat team EVERY SINGLE TIME. 3 and 0. I dont get how anyone could say Lebron deserved that award over Drose that year.

  3. Everyone’s talking about 2016, but where exactly is the argument for LeBron being the best player in 2015? Curry, Harden, and AD all had much better seasons than him.

  4. So 2019 Kawhi>2016 Steph and 2018 Harden. Got it. Your argument was better player overall rather than individual season. Yet LeBron was the same LeBron in 2018-2019 just without team success. So where’s the line?

  5. If you think LeBron was better than Kobe in 08-2010

    You don’t know ball

    LeBron said himself March of 2009 Kobe is a better player and he will continue to say it

    The Kobe slander is getting ridiculous

  6. People don’t understand how good 2020 Stephen curry really was. It’s the first year of Steph where you knew every clutch shot was going in, and he also won the scoring title with minimal free throwing and 0 flops. He did all this with little offensive help to take the pressure off of him.

  7. This is one of the better attempts at one of these lists.
    Bravo. Maybe Kidd over Shaq in the early 00,s one time… I'd argue Timmay was better than Kobe in 06/07… But excellent…

  8. Bro come on now, Curry, Westbrook and Harden gotta remain bruh and prolly KD too. I love you and your videos btw Andrew but braahh.

  9. Id give 16 to Curry (barely) and 18 to Harden easily, but depends on the weight of playoff performance

    If we value playoffs more than regular szn then LeBron deserves every year apart from maybe 2011 but even then he made the finals

    If regular szn and Playoffs are valued equally then 18 is easily Harden and you can easily argue Steph for 16 but its a TIGHT argument

    Either way this isnt actually glaze tbh, Bron was that mf for every year, and when he wasnt THE mf he was 2nd itw

  10. 2000: Shaq
    2001: Iverson
    2002: Duncan
    2003: Duncan
    2004: KG
    2005: Dirk
    2006: Dirk
    2007: Dirk
    2008: CP3
    2009: LeBron
    2010: LeBron
    2011: Rose
    2012: LeBron
    2013: LeBron
    2014: KD
    2015: Curry
    2016: Curry
    2017: Harden
    2018: Harden
    2019: Giannis
    2020: Giannis
    2021: Jokic
    2022: Jokic
    2023: Giannis
    2024: Jokic
    2025: Shai

  11. Lebron is getting only another mvp award from Rose's year, nothing else other than that.

  12. the disrespect for curry is just comical at this point cut the glaze or nobody gonna listen to u man

  13. i think giannis has at least a year or two longer of being better than jokic. jokic defensively is bad like really bad

  14. Nah. Lebrongetivy is a thing but he was not the best player in the world for 12 years or whatever it was. Harden was the most VALUBLE player in 2018. One of those years 2011-2015 Kevin Durant was a more valuable piece then Bron. Steph in 2016. And Luka in 2024

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