Every International Player to Win MVP in NBA History

The three finalist for the 2024-2025 NBA MVP award are 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 could win his first MVP, 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 69 MVP awards and just ten have been won by players born outside the United States. However, the last six—soon to be seven—have been won by international players.

Here's a list of all the international players to win NBA MVP.

International players who have won NBA MVP

Canada: Steve Nash

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.

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.