The Lost MVPs

Recapping the awards and providing some perspective

Visit our full Lost Awards Series page for all the honors we’re trying to bestow.

---

Well, after handing out the Lost MVP awards for the 1950 through 1955 seasons, this little ole post will just summarize the situation.

Your Lost MVPs! (Maybe I have a second career as a graphic artist? Just look at this great work!)

George Mikan is obviously the big winner. He gets three Lost MVPs by my count (1950, 1951, 1953) and is a legit contender for two more (1952, 1954). If I had bothered to do some Lost BAA MVP awards, Mikan also would have had that honor in 1949. He was also actual MVP of the NBL in 1948.

So, in a world of basketball sanity where the NBA and BAA followed the NBL’s lead, Mikan was MVP four consecutive seasons and five times in six seasons.

(Wait till we get around to Lost Finals MVPs. Mikan gonna be striking more pay dirt).

The other obvious winners in this Lost MVPs exercise are the winners. Dolph Schayes, Neil Johnston, and Paul Arizin would be better remembered as the NBA legends they are if they had Most Valuable Player alongside their names. Johnston in particular would be greatly enhanced. Schayes and Arizin had lengthy careers and were members of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players list, so although they’re somewhat forgotten that list always serves as a reminder to people.

Meanwhile, Johnston’s career was cut short by a knee injury in the 1958-59 season. Nonetheless, he was a three-time scoring champ, three-time FG% leader, and a RPG leader. Oh and got an NBA title in 1956. And was on the All-NBA 1st Team four straight years. An MVP award would rightly place him among the league’s all-time greats in popular memory… insofar as popular memory manages to stretch back to the 1950s.

Anyhoo, here are the ballots all compiled for y’all.

(The titles link to the articles explaining my decisions)

1949-50 Ballot

#1 George Mikan
#2 Alex Groza
#3 Dolph Schayes
#4 Bob Davies
#5 Frankie Brian

1950-51 Ballot

#1 George Mikan
#2 Alex Groza
#3 Ed Macauley
#4 Dolph Schayes
#5 Arnie Risen

1951-52 Ballot

#1 Paul Arizin
#2 George Mikan
#3 Ed Macauley
#4 Bob Cousy
#5 Vern Mikkelsen

1952-53 Ballot

#1 George Mikan
#2 Dolph Schayes
#3 Neil Johnston
#4 Bob Cousy
#5 Harry Gallatin

1953-54 Ballot

#1 Dolph Schayes
#2 Neil Johnston
#3 George Mikan
#4 Bob Cousy
#5 Harry Gallatin

1954-55 Ballot

#1 Neil Johnston
#2 Dolph Schayes
#3 Larry Foust
#4 Bob Cousy
#5 Bob Pettit

Overall MVP voting breakdown