<P> The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) is an annual National Basketball Association ( NBA ) award given since the 1955 -- 56 season to the best performing player of the regular season . The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy , which is named in honor of the first commissioner ( then president ) of the NBA , who served from 1946 until 1963 . Until the 1979 -- 80 season , the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players . Since the 1980 -- 81 season , the award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada , each of whom casts a vote for first to fifth place selections . Each first - place vote is worth 10 points ; each second - place vote is worth seven ; each third - place vote is worth five , fourth - place is worth three and fifth - place is worth one . Starting from 2010 , one ballot was cast by fans through online voting . The player with the highest point total wins the award . As of June 2017 , the current holder of the award is Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder . </P>
<P> The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) is an annual National Basketball Association ( NBA ) award given since the 1955 -- 56 season to the best performing player of the regular season . The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy , which is named in honor of the first commissioner ( then president ) of the NBA , who served from 1946 until 1963 . Until the 1979 -- 80 season , the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players . Since the 1980 -- 81 season , the award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada , each of whom casts a vote for first to fifth place selections . Each first - place vote is worth 10 points ; each second - place vote is worth seven ; each third - place vote is worth five , fourth - place is worth three and fifth - place is worth one . Starting from 2010 , one ballot was cast by fans through online voting . The player with the highest point total wins the award . As of June 2017 , the current holder of the award is Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder . </P>
who won the nba season mvp this year
who won the nba season mvp this year
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook