At a time when the 2022 playoffs are in full swing, major individual awards have also been announced, but now the regular season MVP awards are still pending. As one of the final nominees (despite rumors that he did not win the prize), Embiid's advantage lies in the scoring champion, which has been a weight in the previous MVP selection. But the scoring king certainly can't be tied to the MVP. In NBA history, there are 11 stars who have won the scoring championship and MVP in a single season, will Embiid have a chance to join the list this year?
1. Jordan
Winning the Leading Scorers and MVP Seasons: 5 seasons in total
To say that the combination of the scoring king and the MVP is the most perfect, in the history of the NBA, except for Jordan, there is no one on the right. From 1987 to 1998, Jordan took the top 10 seasons except for the 1993–94 season when he played baseball in the middle and the 1994–95 season when he returned to the NBA halfway through. During this period, he also won five MVPs, in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998. At that time, Jordan gave the impression that he should be the MVP of the year, and the scoring king was more like an accessory.
2. Bob Petit
Winner of scoring and MVP seasons: 2 seasons in total
Petit has a number of prominent identities: he is the greatest star in the history of the Hawks, only he has won a championship for the Hawks, and only he has won the MVP as a Hawk player (and won 2 times); in addition, he is also the first regular season MVP in NBA history, a Hall of Famer, and he is indispensable to the 50 and 75 majors. He was the first star to hook up the scoring king and the MVP. He was elected leading scorer in the 1955-56 and 1958-59 seasons and successfully included the MVP of these two seasons.
3. Chamberlain
Winner of scoring and MVP seasons: 2 seasons in total
If MVP is more focused on individual performance, Chamberlain, who has just entered the league, should be elected every year. In the rookie season, Chamberlain became the top scorer with an average of 37.6 points per game. In the 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons, Chamberlain averaged a staggering 50.4 and 44.8 points per game. In fact, in the first 9 seasons of his career, Chamberlain was elected the leading scorer 7 times. But after being elected MVP in the rookie season, the next time Chamberlain gets this honor is 6 years later. During this period, his old rival Bill Russell was elected MVP four times, winning the championship every year, but never winning a single scoring champion. MVP still has to rely on results to speak after all.
4. Abdul-Jabbar
Winner of scoring and MVP seasons: 2 seasons in total
Abdul-Jabbar has been elected MVP 6 times in his life, and even Jordan has been overpowered by him. It is also interesting that although Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar is the all-time total leading scorer in NBA history (he will be surpassed by James next season), he has only won 2 scoring championships. Undoubtedly, for Abdul-Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar, the scoring king cannot be linked to the MVP. But his first two MVP wins were all related to the scoring king. In 1971, Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar won the leading scorer, MVP and the first title in team history for the Bucks. In 1972, Abdul-Jabbar came again, only this time failing to win the championship. Since then, he has been elected MVP four times, and Abdul-Jabbar has not once been related to the scoring king.
5. Bob McAdoo
Leading scorer and MVP season: 1974-75
McAdoo was once the forgotten MVP of the Top 50. Since the second season of his career, McAdoo has been elected the leading scorer with an average of 30.6 points per game, and has since won two consecutive times, scoring 34.5 points per game at the peak of the season. However, he only won the MVP once in the 1974-75 season (peak season). But this time alone is precious enough, as he remains the only MVP in the history of the Clippers (including its predecessor, Buffalo Braves).
6. O'Neill
Leading scorer and MVP season: 1999-00
O'Neal has won the top scorer twice in his life, the first time was in the 1994-95 season, O'Neal won the leading scorer battle, but in the MVP selection, he was relegated to David Robinson in the MVP selection; finally in the 1999-00 season, O'Neal was elected the top scorer with an average of 29.7 points per game, and this time he did not let the MVP fall behind. The next time O'Neal got so close to MVP was in 2004-05, when he again finished second in the MVP vote, below Nash, while the top scorer was taken away by Iverson.
7. Iverson
Top Scorer and MVP Season: 2000-01
Iverson was named the leading scorer four times in his career. After Jordan, he was one of the most scoring stars (later tied by Durant). In the 1998–99 season, Iverson won the first scoring champion since the dissolution of the Bulls Dynasty, and the MVP was awarded to Carl Malone; in the 2000-01 season, Iverson finished the game, winning the scoring championship and MVP, and reaching the Finals. In the 2001-02 and 2004-05 seasons, Iverson won the scoring championship again, and the MVP belonged to Duncan and Nash respectively, and his era came to a hasty end.
8. Durant
Winning scoring and MVP season: 2013-14
When it comes to scoring, of course, we can't fail to mention Durant, who has perhaps the most comprehensive offensive weapon in NBA history. Durant has been elected the scoring champion four times in his career, but he has been linked to the MVP, and Durant has waited for many years. From 2010 to 2012, Durant completed the scoring champion three consecutive times, but the MVP of these three seasons was divided between James and Rose. It wasn't until the 2013-14 season, when Durant led the Thunder to second place in the league, with a 72% win rate, that he took the MVP trophy home.
9. Curry
Top Scorer and MVP Season: 2015-16
As the NBA's all-time three-point king, Curry is naturally unambiguous in scoring, but interestingly, Curry has only been elected the scoring champion twice so far. The first time was in the 2015-16 season, when Curry led the defending champion Warriors to 73 wins, breaking the Bulls record, and was unanimously elected MVP, and the scoring champion was one of the more inconspicuous of his many reasons for winning. In the previous season, Curry had also won the MVP, and the season's scoring champion was won by Wei Shao. In the 2020-21 season, Curry won the scoring championship again, and the MVP belonged to Jokic.
10. Wei Shao
Winning Leading Scorers and MVP Season: 2016-17
As the NBA's all-time triple-double king, Wei Shao's scoring ability has been somewhat covered up, but he has also won the point king twice, in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. The first time, Curry led the Warriors to emerge and won the MVP; the next time, Westbrook once again faced fierce competition, after all, this time Harden led the Rockets to win the 3rd place in the West End, and the Thunder were only 6th. But because Westbrook was able to reproduce the miracle of averaging three-doubles per game this season (which is no longer strange now), he still carried the MVP trophy home.
11. Harden
Leading scorer and MVP season: 2017-18
In his NBA career, Harden's identity has changed several times. He was known for his organization at the Thunder; when he came to the Rockets, he unleashed his scoring potential, winning the points from 2018 to 2020, and even 36.1 points per game in the peak season; and at the Nets and 76ers, Harden had a tendency to return to the organizers. In the 2017-18 season, Harden, who has been selected to accompany the run in the MVP vote twice (and will continue to accompany the run), won the scoring championship for the first time in his career and led the Rockets to climb to the first place in the league. Harden is also the most recent star to hook up the MVP and the top scorer. (Supine Braces/Hairy)