NBA: Most won MVP award and voting process
Every year, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announces their Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The award was first given out in the 1955-1956 season to the best performing player of the regular season.
The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy which is named after the first commissioner of the NBA.
Who has won the most MVP awards?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won the most. In his career, he won six times which is the record-setting amount.
Michael Jordan has won five times and LeBron James four times.
Russell Westbrook from Oklahoma City Thunder is the current NBA MVP holder.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Westbrook brought his teammates up on stage and jokingly thanked the media.
“I never thought I’d be saying this up here today, but I wanna thank the media for voting for me,” he said.
“No but seriously, I’m very, very appreciative. I feel like I go out every night and compete at a very, very high level and I’m thankful for you guys noticing that.”
How does the MVP voting process work?
Until 1979, the award was selected by NBA players however in 1980 the award was decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the US and Canada.
The voting process entitles each member to cast a vote from first to fifth place.
First place is worth 10 points, second is seven votes, third is five votes, fourth is three votes and fifth is one vote.
The player with the highest points wins the MVP award.
When is the MVP announced?
The NBA awards show will be held on June 25, 2018 in California. During the show, they will announce the MVP, Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
The show will announce all the NBA teams as well as several honours decided by fans.