From 1984 to 1986, Bird s MVP three consecutive MVPs, but in 1987, he could only rank third in the MVP list. Who are the top two?

Looking at NBA history, there are only three players who have had three consecutive MVP feats in his career, and the last one to achieve such a success is Larry Bird. This top superstar attracted the attention of many teams before Bird entered the league, including the NBA giants Celtics. At that time, in order to get Bird, they seized the loopholes in the draft system at that time and selected him one year in advance. After entering the league, Bird did not disappoint the team. He was selected for the All-Star and the Best Team in his rookie season. Under his leadership, the Celtics also ushered in a qualitative change. The team won 32 more games in that season than the previous year. Later, Bird was still constantly improving his strength. In the 1983-1984 season, he finally won his first MVP in his career. In the regular season, he averaged 24.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Later, in 1985 and 1986, Bird successfully defended the MVP. His regular season data averaged 28.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.8 steals, 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2 steals per game. However, in the 1986-1987 season, Bird still failed to achieve the great feat of four consecutive MVPs. He could only rank third in the MVP list this season. So how did he perform at that time? Who are the two players in front of him? Let’s review it together below!

For the Celtics, the 1986-1987 season was a very unlucky year because many core players in the team were troubled by injuries, including Bill Walton, McHale and Palish, three players who played an indispensable role in the Celtics lineup. Under such a difficult situation, Bird, as the team leader, could only shoulder more important responsibilities, so he still performed excellently in the season.

Byder played 74 games in the regular season, ranking first in the league in averaging 40.6 minutes of playing time. It was also the season with the most playing time per game in his career. With such a huge load, Bird averaged 28.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and with his three shooting percentages of 52.5%, 40%, and 91%, he also successfully entered the "180 Club".

With Bird's strong performance, the Celtics still played well in combat. The offensive efficiency of the regular season team ranks third in the league, and the defensive efficiency can rank ninth in the league. However, the shortage of personnel has led to the Celtics being willing but not capable in many games. Therefore, after the regular season, the team finally "only" achieved a record of 59 wins and 23 losses. Although such performance can still rank first in the Eastern Conference, their own record of at least 60+ wins in the regular season for many years was forced to end this season.

In addition, this season's Celtics fully demonstrated what "home dragon, away bug" means. The regular season team's home record was less than 39 wins and 2 losses, while the away record was only 20 wins and 21 losses. This is also the first season since Bird joined the team, the Celtics' away record has a winning rate of less than 50%. And because of this, even though the Celtics are still the number one in the East, at least the outside world saw that they were not invincible.

After the final regular season, Bird won 13.36% of the votes in the MVP selection. Although he only got one first vote, he still ranked third in the MVP list with a total score of 271 points. Let's take a look at what performance the two players in front of him performed!

2. Michael Jordan

Jordan, who was still very young at this time, was affected by a serious leg injury the previous season and played only 18 games in the regular season. Therefore, the Bulls finally barely took the last train of the playoffs. Because they ranked low in the regular season, they met the Celtics in the first round, and the final outcome was also swept 0-3 in the first round. However, in this round of the series, Jordan played a very personal heroic performance. He averaged 43.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, and set a record of 63 points in the series G2.

By the 1986-1987 season, Jordan, who remained healthy this time, had a big explosion in the regular season. He played all 82 games and averaged 37.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. Jordan's aggressiveness on the offensive end this year can be said to be the highest year in his career. He averaged 27.8 shots per game and 11.9 free throws per game. These two data are not only the highest level in the league this season, but also the highest record in his personal career.

Jordan also left crazy data of 40+ in 9 consecutive games and 50+ in 3 consecutive games. In addition, he also scored 60+ twice, and in the end he won his first regular season scoring champion in his career without any suspense. With such crazy personal performance, Jordan naturally won the favor of many voters, but unfortunately the Bulls' winning rate that season was really unpredictable. They only had a record of 40 wins and 42 losses, so this made him at a disadvantage in the competition with Magic Johnson.

1. Magic Johnson

The Magic Johnson, who has been very good before, led the Lakers to the championship in his rookie season, and in the finals, G6 became the youngest FVMP in NBA history with his performance of 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. Later, before the 1986-1987 season, he won three assists and two steals, and was selected into the All-Stars and 4 Best Teams..

In the 1986-1987 season, the Magic ushered in his true peak. This year, he averaged 23.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 12.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. While winning the fourth assist king trophy in his career, this is the first time in his career that he averaged at least 20 points, 10 assists in the regular season. With the Magicians' connection, the Lakers played a storm-like offense in the regular season. Their offensive efficiency was also ranked first in the league with 115.6. It was precisely with such offensive performance that the Lakers finally ended the regular season with a record of 65 wins and 17 losses.

In the following MVP votes, the Magic's vote rate reached 36.14%, and he also won the unique 65 first votes. In the end, he successfully won the first MVP in his career with a total score of 733 points. Before him, the last time the NBA's point guard won an MVP dates back to Oscar Robertson in 1964. In addition, in the playoffs this season, the Magic also helped the Lakers win the championship again. In the finals, he averaged 26.2 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and he was elected FMVP without any controversy.