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Young prospects are always on the rise in every sport. They’re a joy to watch, especially in the NBA, where they can make their mark out of the 10 players on the court, but only a few have earned the title of Most-Valuable Player while being so young.
We’ll cover the top five youngest NBA MVPs of all time. For consistency, we’ll outline the youngest ages of each player with an NBA regular season MVP trophy, the team they played for and the season they won MVP.
Kicking off our list is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who is tied with Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Bob Pettit (honorable mentions) for one of the youngest NBA MVPs of all time. The 23-year-old Miluwuawkee Bucks player earned his MVP trophy during his outstanding 1970-1971 season with the Bucks.
In his 82 games played, Abdul-Jabbar averaged a whopping 31.7 points per game and 16 rebounds on average, both are extremely high for any MVP. With an FGM stat of 13, Kareem converted 69% of his free throws and ended his brilliant 1971 season with a 57.4% FTM. With stats like these, it’s hard to think Abdul Jabbar was so young, along with the other top five youngest NBA MVPs of all time.
Up next is old-school Buffalo Braves Bob McAdoo, who earned a spot on the list of youngest NBA MVPs of all time, winning his MVP title during his 1974-1975 season at 23 years old.
During this season, McAdoo averaged 43.2 minutes played per game, more minutes than any other youngest NBA MVP on average. Of his 82 regular season games, he would also finish the 1975 season with a vicious stat of 34.5 points per game.
While not much of a rebounder, Bob McAdoo claims a spot in this list with 14.1 rebounds and even 2.1 blocks per game, showcasing just how good his 1975 season with the Braves was.
Another 23-year-old NBA MVP is Moses Malone, a Houston Rockets rookie who earned his regular season MVP trophy during the 1978-1979 season. He was also the youngest 23-year-old MVP before reaching Wes Unseld and Derrick Rose.
Averaging 41.3 minutes per game out of his 82 season games, Malone would shoot 24.8 points per game and finish with a remarkable 17.6 rebounds on average, to go along with 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.
With a stat of 73.9% conversions from the line, Malone is certainly one of the best free-throw takers on this list, and it’s no secret that he belongs at the number three spot of youngest NBA MVPs of all time at such a young age.
Wes Unseld, an old-time Baltimore Bullets player, would win an NBA regular season MVP trophy in 1969 at the age of 22.
Much like the other MVPs, Unseld played 82 games in total during his 1968-1969 MVP run. Although he only netted 13.8 points per game on average, Unseld would claim MVP at such a young age securing approximately 18.2 rebounds per game and 1,491 that season, the most out of any other youngest NBA MVP of all time on this list.
The clear-cut youngest NBA MVP of all time comes down to the Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose, a well-known modern NBA prospect who has suffered much from injury.
Rose won his first NBA MVP trophy at the age of 22 during his spectacular 2010-2011 season. For this season in particular, Rose would play 81 games, score 25 points per game and net 7.7 assists per game, where he would end the season with 2,026 points and 623 assists in total.
Besides topping out every other young MVP on this list for most assists within a season, Derrick Rose would finish from the free-throw line 85.8% of the time. This made him one of the most consistent shooters inside the paint and the youngest NBA MVP ever.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.