Every NBA season ends with the same debate: who was the most valuable player? Voters give one answer. The Sofascore Rating gives another, based only on what happened on the court.

We went back 30 seasons, from 1996/97 to 2025/26, and compared each official NBA MVP with the player who finished the season with the highest Sofascore Rating.

NBA MVP vs Sofascore Rating: a perfect 50-50 split

The result is about as even as it gets. In 15 of 30 seasons, the MVP was also the top-rated player. In the other 15, the Rating pointed to someone else.

For three decades, voters and data have agreed exactly half the time.

Nikola Jokić tops the Sofascore Rating six seasons in a row

The current era has one clear name. Nikola Jokić has finished with the highest Sofascore Rating in the NBA in each of the last six seasons.

Voters handed Jokić three MVPs in that stretch. In the other three seasons, Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the trophy while Jokić stayed on top of the ratings. His 8.85 in 2024/25 is the highest single-season rating in the entire 30-year comparison.

The 2010s: LeBron James, James Harden and Chris Paul

The 2010s brought plenty of agreement. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry in his unanimous 2015/16 season and Russell Westbrook in his triple-double year all topped both lists.

The splits are where it gets interesting. In 2010/11, Derrick Rose won MVP while LeBron led the ratings. Chris Paul edged Curry in 2014/15. In 2017/18 Harden took the MVP, but LeBron came out ahead in the Rating by the thinnest of margins. The next two seasons flipped it: Giannis Antetokounmpo won back-to-back MVPs while James Harden topped the Rating both times.

From Jordan to Nash: the late 1990s and 2000s

Go further back and the biggest names in the game show up on both sides. Michael Jordan won his final MVP in 1997/98, while Shaquille O’Neal posted the better rating. Shaq led the Rating again in 2000/01, the season Allen Iverson was named MVP.

Steve Nash is a rare case of complete agreement. He topped the Rating in both of his MVP seasons and again in 2006/07, when Dirk Nowitzki won the award.

Then there is Chris Paul. He led the NBA in Sofascore Rating three times, in 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2014/15, but never won an MVP. The largest gap in the whole comparison came in 2007/08, when Kobe Bryant won with a 8.00 rating while Paul posted 8.55.

Why MVP voting and the Sofascore Rating differ

None of this means voters got it wrong. MVP voting weighs many things: team record, storylines, availability and sometimes simple fatigue with the same winner. The Sofascore Rating measures individual performance only, adjusted for game context and minutes played.

They answer two different questions, and that is exactly why the Sofascore Player of the Season Award basketball edition exists. It leaves out narratives and voting and recognizes the player whose performances, game after game, added up to the best season.