Winning a unanimous MVP in sports is one of those eccentric, niche milestones that seemingly only truly great superstars can achieve. But with these honors usually voted on by media members — who are fans of the sport they cover first — sometimes, perspective can be lost in the shuffle.
Because to be a unanimous MVP means you were the undisputed best player in the world in your respective league or sport. No questions asked. At least, that’s what a clean-sweep vote essentially dictates.
You were a cut above, and everyone else paled compared to your brilliance. (Never mind that all of these votes are inherently subjective.)
Despite a historic 2022-2023 NHL season, Connor McDavid wasn’t a unanimous MVP. It’s mind-boggling as to why. But McDavid certainly isn’t the first major sports star to lose out on this distinction that would probably only bother Hall of Famers. There’s a laundry list of athletes who put on an all-time show for an entire year, only for some people to say their excellence actually wasn’t the best.
Across four of the major American sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL — here’s a look at a few stars who probably should’ve received unanimous MVP honors. Note: This list is not a ranking of egregiousness. It is in chronological order by year from top to bottom.
1
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics, NBA (1986)
In arguably the best and most efficient season of the Hall of Famer’s career, Bird fell five first-place votes short of the unanimous distinction.
2
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers, NHL (1984-1987)
In the 1980s, “The Great One” won eight consecutive MVPs. And just over halfway through this remarkable run, he amassed 755 points in four seasons. He didn’t win unanimous MVP in any of them.
3
Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, NBA (1996)
The arguable “GOAT,” Jordan won five regular-season MVPs in his legendary career. In 1996, in his first full campaign since returning to the NBA, Jordan put on a masterclass of offensive and defensive efficiency, even uncharacteristically shooting over 42 percent from behind the arc. And yet, guys like Penny Hardaway and Hakeem Olajuwon got votes anyway?
4
Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA (2000)
Keying the Lakers’ early 2000s run of dominance was Shaquille O’Neal. In the finest season of his Hall of Fame career, O’Neal accrued jaw-dropping averages of 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and three blocks a game. His win shares stood at a whopping 18.6. O’Neal was a force to be reckoned with.
He earned 120… of 121 first-place votes for MVP.
5
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, MLB (2001)
Bonds smashed a historic 73 dingers and had an OPS of 1.379 (!) in 2001. Even with 64 homers of his own for the Chicago Cubs, Sammy Sosa’s two first-place votes for NL MVP felt like a pittance next to Bonds’ all-time greatness.
6
LaDainian Tomlinson, Los Angeles Chargers, NFL (2006)
To date, no NFL player has ever scored more total touchdowns (31) in a season than Tomlinson with the Chargers in 2006. I have no idea why a 26-touchdown, 11-interception campaign for Drew Brees and an average (still great) Peyton Manning season received any traction. I guess awesome underlying narratives really can outweigh transcendence from the backfield.
7
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees, MLB (2007)
Rodriguez’s 9.4 WAR was almost two full points better than the next-best MLB player. He slammed 54 dingers and had 156 RBI and an OPS of 1.067. Magglio Ordonez, on an 88-win Detroit Tigers team, took two first-place votes from him. Sure.
8
Tom Brady, New England Patriots, NFL (2007)
At the time, Brady’s 50 touchdown passes in a single campaign were the most in NFL history. Brady’s brilliant performance was by far the lead catalyst for a Patriots team that went 16-0 in the regular season for the first time in league history. A patently and merely very good effort from Brett Favre in his last Green Bay season snatched one vote from the Patriots legend. C’mon.
9
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, NHL (2007-2008)
Alright, I’m kind of cheating again with two Ovechkin campaigns, but how does a back-to-back MVP winner with 222 points and 111 goals in two years — in the “dead-puck” era, no less — NOT win at least one unanimous MVP here? Voters clearly lost focus with Ovechkin in his prime.
10
Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos, NFL (2013)
Manning’s 2013 campaign stands alone in NFL history for the most passing yards ever (5,477) and the most touchdown passes ever (55). Tom Brady — with a 25-11 touchdown to interception ratio — took a vote off Manning because he was a hardened “winner” or something.
11
LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA (2013)
In 2012-2013, fresh off a disappointing NBA Finals loss, the Miami Heat rolled through the regular season to the tune of 66 wins. And in his second official stint as a “power forward,” LeBron James was on an absolute mission. He averaged his usual 25-plus points, seven-ish rebounds, and assists and had a true shooting percentage of 64 percent (40 percent from three!).
James was arguably at his peak… and then Carmelo Anthony took a first-place MVP vote thanks to some volume scoring on an overrated Knicks squad.
12
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers, NFL (2015)
To date, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more dominant individual season from a quarterback as a passer and runner than Cam Newton in 2015. That Panthers squad had no business winning 15 regular-season games, but Newton himself was just that incandescent from week to week. Newton was so special in 2015 that he almost won the Panthers a Super Bowl with arguably the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the league.
Once again, Tom Brady got a vote because of tremendous “leadership-ing.” And I’d be remiss if I forgot Carson Palmer’s extremely random cameo vote!
13
Aaron Judge, New York Yankee, MLB (2022)
I’m not actually sure this AL MVP vote was all that egregious, considering that Shohei Ohtani exists and probably should’ve gotten some measure of consideration. Nonetheless, Judge deserved his hardware for finishing with the seventh-most home runs in a single season. I personally would’ve given him the unanimous nod and not out of pity.
14
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, NHL (2023)
As long as he stays healthy, McDavid will be the Hart Trophy favorite until he’s close to retirement… years from now. Plus, he does, admittedly, already have a unanimous MVP (2021). But to lose out on another one after the first NHL season of at least 150 points in three decades is absurd.
And to the Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak? Really?
I know this isn’t a postseason honor, but maybe the paper tiger Bruins should’ve won a single playoff series before any of their players received disruptive award votes.
All vote tallies have been taken from the various Sports Reference database websites.
