The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports. With the 2025-26 season approaching, the Lakers will begin their 78th season in the NBA. Throughout their rich history, only four players have won the MVP award while wearing purple and gold, and we’re here to break down those legendary names and campaigns.
Magic Johnson – 3 times (1987, 1989, 1990)
The Lakers took Johnson with the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft, and he would go on to play 13 stellar seasons in LA that resulted in a Hall of Fame induction in 2002. In 1986-87, Magic earned his first MVP award after averaging a career-best 23.9 points with a league-leading 12.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 0.5 blocks per game across 80 outings. That same year, he led the Lakers to their fourth championship in eight years and took home his third Finals MVP trophy.
Two years later, ‘The Magic Man’ appeared in 77 games en route to averages of 22.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 12.8 apg and 1.8 spg while leading the NBA in free-throw percentage (career-best 91.1). He tallied 65 double-doubles, 17 triple-doubles, was named an All-Star and First-Team All-NBA for the seventh consecutive season. In 1989-90, Johnson won back-to-back MVP honors by posting 22.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 11.5 apg and 1.7 spg across 79 contests. Over his 13-year career, Magic compiled averages of 19.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 11.2 apg and 1.9 spg in 906 regular-season games, with his career assists representing an all-time NBA record. He is the only player in the history of the league to average at least 20.0 ppg and 12.0 apg in two seasons.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 3 times (1976, 1977, 1980)
Abdul-Jabbar spent the first six years of his illustrious 20-year career with the Milwaukee Bucks after they made him the first overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft. ‘The Tower of Power’ won three of his six total MVP awards with the franchise before being traded to the Lakers ahead of the 1975-76 campaign. In his first two years in LA, Abdul-Jabbar earned back-to-back MVP trophies by playing in all 164 regular-season games. In his debut season, he averaged 27.7 points, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals while leading the NBA in rebounds (career-best 16.9) and blocks (career-best 4.1). In 1976-77, he tallied 26.2 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.2 spg and 3.2 bpg, and led all players in field-goal percentage (57.9).
The 1995 Hall of Fame inductee was back at it during the 1979-80 campaign at 32 years of age. Across all 82 outings, Abdul-Jabbar put up 24.8 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.0 spg and a league-leading 3.4 bpg. He earned his sixth and final MVP trophy while also being named to the All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive First Teams. Kareem also helped the Lakers win their first of five titles during his 14 seasons there.
Kobe Bryant – 2008
Bryant, the only player on this list not taken with the first overall pick in their respective draft class, grabbed his lone MVP award following two seasons as the NBA’s scoring champ. In 2007-08, the ‘Black Mamba’ averaged 28.3 points on 45.9 / 36.1 / 84.0 splits with 6.3 boards, 5.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.5 blocks per game across 82 outings. He also earned All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team nods and finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year vote, the best of his legendary 20-year career. The late Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, two-time scoring champ, five-time NBA champ, 15-time All-NBA, 12-time All-Defensive, two-time Finals MVP, a Hall of Fame inductee in 2020, and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. He is first all-time in Lakers’ franchise history with 172.7-win shares.
Shaquille O’Neal – 2000
At the turn of the century, O’Neal put together a dominant two-way effort across 79 outings in his fourth year in LA. ‘Shaq’ averaged a career-best and league-leading 29.7 points with 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.5 steals and 3.0 blocks per game to earn his lone MVP award. He also led the NBA in made field goals (12.1), field-goal percentage (57.4), two-point field-goal attempts (21.1) and free-throw attempts (10.4) that year, and was named an All-Star, All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive Second Team while finishing second in DPOY voting. Over the course of his 19-year career, ‘Diesel’ was a 15-time All-Star, two-time scoring champ, four-time NBA champ, 14-time All-NBA, the 1993 Rookie of the Year, three-time All-Defensive, three-time Finals MVP, a Hall of Fame inductee in 2016, and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
