The Pre-1956 MVPs

As many of you probably know (and for those of you that don't), the NBA's most valuable player award was first given out in 1956 to Bob Pettit. However, that leaves us with nine seasons where there was no MVP named. So, I thought, just for kicks, I'd go back through the record books and see who would/should have been named MVP in each of those years. This won't be quite as in-depth as the 1999 All-Star Selection process was, but it should still be fun.


(Note: Rebound data isn't available until 1951, and PER isn't available until 1952.)
1947
MVP: Joe Fulks, PHW (23.2 PPG, 0.4 APG, 16.3 WS, 35-25)
2. Bob Feerick, WSC (16.8 PPG, 1.3 APG, 18.6 WS, 49-11)
3. Ed Sadowski, CLR (16.5 PPG, 0.9 APG, 11.8 WS, 30-30)
4. Max Zaslofsky, CHS (14.4 PPG, 0.7 APG, 9.6 WS, 39-22)
5. Stan Miasek, DTF (14.9 PPG, 1.6 APG, 10.3 WS, 20-40)


Joe Fulks gets our first MVP award. Not the greatest team record, but certainly not terrible. And he is head and shoulders above everyone else in points per game, so Fulks gets the nod.


1948
MVP: Max Zaslofsky, CHS (21.0 PPG, 0.6 APG, 9.4 WS, 28-20)
2. Bob Feerick, WSC (16.1 PPG, 1.2 APG, 10.5 WS, 28-20)
3. Ed Sadowski, BOS (19.4 PPG, 1.6 APG, 9.3 WS, 20-28)
4. John Logan, STB (13.4 PPG, 1.3 APG, 8.3 WS, 29-19)
5. Buddy Jeannette, BLB (10.7 PPG, 1.5 APG, 8.2 WS, 28-20)


Ah, Max Zaslofsky, one of the most underrated players of the BAA. Good team record, good stats. Seems like an easy win for him.


1949
MVP: George Mikan, MNL (28.3 PPG, 3.6 APG, 20.9 WS, 44-16)
2. Max Zaslofsky, CHS (20.6 PPG, 2.6 APG, 10.2 WS, 38-22)
3. Joe Fulks, PHW (26.0 PPG, 1.2 APG, 7.7 WS, 28-32)
4. Arnie Risen, ROC (16.6 PPG, 1.7 APG, 10.6 WS, 45-15)
5. Ed Sadowski, PHW (15.3 PPG, 2.7 APG, 10.7 WS, 28-13)


The Era of Mikan begins. Unbelievable numbers. Unbelievable record. No doubt about this one.


1950
MVP: George Mikan, MNL (27.4 PPG, 2.9 APG, 21.1 WS, 51-17)
2. Alex Groza, INO (23.4 PPG, 2.5 APG, 17.9 WS, 39-25)
3. Dolph Schayes, SYR (16.8 PPG, 4.0 APG, 12.8 WS, 51-13)
4. Bobby Wanzer, ROC (11.8 PPG, 3.0 APG, 10.6 WS, 51-17)
5. Al Cervi, SYR (10.2 PPG, 4.7 APG, 9.3 WS, 51-13)


This one's closer than you may think. Groza and Mikan were really the only contenders, but they're numbers were really close. If only the Indianapolis Olympians had had a slightly better record, Groza might have gotten the nod - but you're not gonna say no to the best player on a 51 team. (Of course, Mikan also had Hall of Famers Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, and Jim Pollard. Alex Groza did not.)


1951
MVP: George Mikan, MNL (28.4 PPG, 14.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 23.4 WS, 44-24)
2. Alex Groza, INO (21.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 18.0 WS, 31-37)
3. Dolph Schayes, SYR (17.0 PPG, 16.4 RPG, 3.8 RPG, 15.9 WS, 32-34)
4. Ed Macauley, BOS (20.4 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 15.9 WS, 39-30)
5. Andy Phillip, PHW (11.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 6.3 APG, 9.7 WS, 40-26)


This is almost identical to the year before. I mean, really, just read the previous paragraph summary and apply it here. Of course, after this year, Groza got banned from basketball for life, so, sadly, he doesn't get another shot at the award.




1952
MVP: George Mikan, MNL (23.8 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 26.4 PER, 14.4 WS, 40-26)
2. Paul Arizin, PHW (25.4 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, 25.5 PER,  16.0 WS, 33-33)
3. Bob Cousy, BOS (21.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 6.7 APG, 21.4 PER, 7.7 WS, 39-27)
4. Dolph Schayes, SYR (13.8 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 23.7 PER, 8.5 WS, 40-26)
5. Arnie Risen, ROC (15.6 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 21.2 PER, 7.1 WS, 41-25)


This was a really tough year to call. (It was tough to winnow it down to just five guys, actually.) Cousy, Schayes, and Risen were all the best players on really good teams. It came down to Mikan and Arizin who seemed just a touch ahead of the other three. I really wanted to give it to Arizin, but that team success is the ultimate deciding factor in close calls, so Mikan wins another one.


1953
MVP: George Mikan, MNL (20.6 PPG, 14.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, 28.4 PER, 14.6 WS, 48-22)
2. Neil Johnston, PHW (22.3 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 25.8 PER, 15.3 WS, 12-57)
3. Dolph Schayes, SYR (17.8 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 3.2 APG, 24.9 PER, 12.5 WS, 47-24)
4. Ed Macauley, BOS (20.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 24.1 PER, 14.5 WS, 46-25)
5. Harry Gallatin, NYK (12.4 PPG, 13.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 23.2 PER, 11.3 WS, 47-23)


Neil Johnston had a dominant season. But it seems rather ridiculous to give an MVP to a guy who led a 12 win team. The Warriors' failure leads to Mikan's success. Chalk one more up for his mantle.


1954
MVP: Neil Johnston, PHW (24.4 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, 25.4 PER, 18.3 WS, 29-43)
2. George Mikan, MNL (18.1 PPG, 14.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 28.5 PER, 12.7 WS, 46-26)
3. Dolph Schayes, SYR (17.1 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 24.1 PER, 14.8 WS, 42-30)
4. Bob Cousy, BOS (19.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 7.2 APG, 20.9 PER, 8.1 WS, 42-30)
5. Ray Felix, BLB (17.6 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, 22.7 PER, 8.6 WS, 16-56)


This is another tough one. Johnston has the stats, but he's still not on much of a winning team. But I think the voters, at this point, would probably be tired of voting for Mikan year after year after year. (See: Malone, Karl - 1997) The other option is giving Dolph Schayes the award as a sort of Lifetime Achievement Award. (See: Bryant, Kobe - 2009) But it would be hard to give it to Schayes when Mikan had the better stats in every category. So I think Johnston would get it mostly because of his team's improvement, not necessarily their wins. (Also, no offense to either Malone or Bryant, they each deserved MVP's, just not in the years they actually won them.) (Double side note: how about that rookie year from Ray Felix? Too bad he was never heard from again...)


1955
MVP: Dolph Schayes, SYR (18.5 PPG, 12.3 PPG, 3.0 APG, 23.0 PER, 12.0 WS, 43-29)
2. Neil Johnston, PHW (22.7 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 25.4 PER, 15.4 WS, 33-39)
3. Bob Pettit, MLH (20.4 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, 24.4 PER, 10.7 WS, 26-46)
4. Larry Foust, FTW (17.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 23.0 PER, 13.3 WS, 43-29)
5. Bob Cousy, BOS (21.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 7.8 APG, 21.3 PER, 7.8 WS, 36-36)


The best player on the best team? Without George Mikan in the mix this year (he was injured and didn't play all year), I think Schayes finally gets his trophy.


MVP Winners
1947 - Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors
1948 - Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags
1949 - George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1950 - George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1951 - George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1952 - George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1953 - George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
1954 - Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors
1955 - Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals