The three finalist for the 2024-2025 NBA MVP award were Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As you may have noticed, none of them are American. Antetokounmpo and Jokic, who have both won multiple MVP awards, are from Greece and Serbia respectively. Gilgeous-Alexander, who won his first MVP this season, is from Canada.
The NBA hasn’t seen an American MVP since James Harden won the award in 2018. Before that there was a decade straight of American MVPs with Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant all winning the award.
In total there have been 70 MVP awards handed out to NBA players and just 11 have been won by players born outside the United States. However, the last seven have been won by international players.
Here’s a list of all the international players to win NBA MVP.
Canada: Steve Nash, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Steve Nash won back-to-back MVP awards, beating out Shaquille O’Neal in an incredibly close race in 2005 and then LeBron James, Dirk Nowtzki and Kobe Bryant in 2006. Nash was actually born in South Africa, but his parents moved to Saskatchewan when he was 18 months old.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a career-high 32.7 points and 6.4 assists in ’24-’25 as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 64 games. SGA was born in Toronto and represented his home country in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Europe: Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dirk Nowitzki
Nikola Jokic won three MVP awards in four seasons and is in the running for a fourth. Jokic was born in Serbia and has represented his home country in the Olympics multiple times, winning a silver medal in Rio in 2016 and most recently bronze in France last summer.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the son of Nigerian immigrants, was born in Greece. Giannis has represented Greece internationally since 2013. He received his Nigerian passport in 2015 and won back-to-back MVP awards in 2019 and 2020.
Dirk Nowitzki beat out Steve Nash in another close MVP vote in 2007. Nowkitzki, born in Germany, played two decades for the Dallas Mavericks and helped them win their first NBA championship.
Africa: Hakeem Olajuwon, Joel Embiid
Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon was the first MVP in the league’s history who was not born in the United States. While he was born in Nigeria, he actually became a naturalized American citizen in 1993 right before he won the award. He changed his nationality so that he could play for the United States 1996 Atlanta Olympics where Team USA won gold.
Joel Embiid was born in Cameroon and moved to the United States as a teenager. He became a U.S. citizen in 2022, right before his MVP season. And just like Olajuwon, he played for the United States in the next Olympics after becoming a citizen and won gold with Team USA.
|
Player |
Season |
Team |
|---|---|---|
|
Hakeem Olajuwon |
1993-94 |
Houston Rockets |
|
Steve Nash |
2004-05, 2005-06 |
Phoenix Suns |
|
Dirk Nowitzki |
2006-07 |
Dallas Mavericks |
|
Giannis Antetokounmpo |
2018-19, 2019-20 |
Milwaukee Bucks |
|
Nikola Jokic |
2020-21, 2021-22, 2023-24 |
Denver Nuggets |
|
Joel Embiid |
2022-23 |
Philadelphia 76ers |
|
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
2024-25 |
Oklahoma City Thunder |
