NBL (United States) Most Valuable Player Award
National Basketball League award
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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
| * | 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] |