NBL (United States) Most Valuable Player Award

National Basketball League awards and honors
Championship
Individual awards
Honors

The National Basketball League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) was an annual National Basketball League (NBL) award given to the best performing player of the regular season in each of the twelve years the league existed. The MVP was selected by sports writers, broadcasters, coaches, and managers.[1][2] For most of the NBL's existence, despite the large amount of players and teams alike that played in the league throughout its existence, only two players won the vast majority (66.7%) of the NBL's MVP awards while the NBL existed: Leroy Edwards of the Oshkosh All-Stars from 1938–1940 and Bobby McDermott of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons from 1942–1946. The only other players to win the MVP award even just once for the NBL were Ben Stephens of the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, Bob Davies of the Rochester Royals, George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers, and Don Otten of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.

As of 2025, among the winners were three future Basketball Hall of Famers: Bob Davies (1970), Bobby McDermott (1988), and George Mikan (1950).

Winners

Bobby McDermott, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, 1942 through 1946
George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers, 1948
* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
† Denotes player whose team won championship that year
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player had been named MVP at that time
Team (X) Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time
Season Player Position Team Reference
1937–38 Leroy Edwards Center Oshkosh All-Stars [3]
1938–39 Leroy Edwards (2) Center Oshkosh All-Stars (2) [3]
1939–40 Leroy Edwards (3) Center Oshkosh All-Stars (3) [3]
1940–41 Ben Stephens Guard / forward Akron Goodyear Wingfoots [4]
1941–42 Bobby McDermott* Guard Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons [5]
1942–43 Bobby McDermott* (2) Guard Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (2) [6]
1943–44† Bobby McDermott* (3) Guard Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (3) [7]
1944–45† Bobby McDermott* (4) Guard Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (4) [8]
1945–46 Bobby McDermott* (5) Guard Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (5) [9]
1946–47 Bob Davies* Guard Rochester Royals [10]
1947–48† George Mikan* Center Minneapolis Lakers [1]
1948–49 Don Otten Center Tri-Cities Blackhawks [2]

See also

References

General
  • "NBL – Most Valuable Player Award Winners". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
Specific
  1. ^ a b "George Mikan Voted Most Valuable Player Of National Court League". The Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. April 4, 1948. p. 16. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Otten Of Tri-Cities Named Top Player In National League". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. March 26, 1949. p. 20. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Leroy Edwards NBL stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2025. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "Ben Stephens NBL stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2025. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "Bobby McDermott Is Most Valuable Player Of '41-42". The Sheboygan Press. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. November 17, 1942. p. 20. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Sport Shorts". Oshkosh Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. March 5, 1943. p. 11. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Fort Wayne's Rise To Top In Pro Court Circles Swift". Wilmington Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. November 22, 1944. p. 14. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "2 Zollners on All-Star Team". Indianapolis News. Indianapolis, Indiana. March 10, 1945. p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "McDermott Tops Pro All-Stars". Standard-Speaker. Hazleton, Pennsylvania. March 20, 1946. p. 14. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Lewis On All-League Five". The Sheboygan Press. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. March 26, 1947. p. 20. Retrieved January 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
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