While the league MVP races are hotly contested affairs, the 1989-90 season’s race was particularly close, arguably the tightest in NBA history. The winner and the runner-up were separated by just 22 votes. Sixers Charles Barkley lost out to Magic Johnson, who took home his second straight MVP.
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Sir Charles had earned more first-place votes than the star of the Showtime Lakers. Yet, he lost out. Barkley hasn’t forgotten the nail-biting and frustrating outcome, and spoke about it on The Dan Patrick Show.
Interestingly, Dan Patrick was one of the media members who voted in the MVP race. He admitted to not giving Chuck a first-place vote.
“I can live with that,” Sir Charles responded. “Magic Johnson, we had the closest vote in the history of the NBA. So I had a great year in Philly, I think that was one of the years I averaged like 28 points, I led the NBA in rebounding and I knew I had a great year and I knew it was going to come down to the wire.”
Barkley averaged 25.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to 53 wins that season. Barkley didn’t lead the league in rebounding. He finished third. He may not be getting the numbers right, but he’s not wrong about how tight the 1990 MVP race was.
“But what really bothered me, and that’s why we should have some of these fools accountable, because I got- I think I beat him in first-place votes, and then I didn’t get any of the other votes… I mean you got to put me first or second. Worst case scenario, third,” Barkley vented.
Barkley recalls that he was voted outside the top 3 by many media members (Patrick voted him second, as per his admission). Johnson edged out Barkley, securing more second-place votes. Chuck beat Michael Jordan, who came in third, averaging 33, 6 and 6.
The frustrating outcome of the MVP race cemented his wariness toward the members of the traditional media. He has repeated the plea to hold them accountable for the subjective outcomes in the MVP race many times over the years. Fans and other players have also been frustrated by the subjectivity of the votes.
Three years on, Chuck won his sole MVP award while playing for the Phoenix Suns. He led the team to 62 wins, averaging 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1 block per game.
One would imagine it being enough to put to rest Barkley’s anger at losing out three seasons prior.
Well, the MVP award he received in the 1993 was not a big enough compensation. In his biography, Barkley addressed the 1990 MVP race and stated, “I haven’t let it go. I’m never letting it go.”
