Before the 21st century, none of the NBA s MVPs except Olajuwon were international players

On May 15, in the 20th century NBA history, almost all of the most dominant players came from the United States. From George McCann, Bill Russell to Wilt Chamberlain, to Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, these legendary superstars not only define the basketball styles of their respective eras, but also push the NBA's influence globally. However, during this long period of domestic American star rule, only one international player broke this monopoly - Hakeem Olajuwon. This "Big Dream" from Nigeria won the regular season MVP for two consecutive years in 1994 and 1995, becoming the only international player to win this honor in the 20th century. The golden age of American basketball began in the early days of the founding of the NBA. When the league was founded in 1946, all players were trained in the United States. George McCann, the first truly superstar in the league, led the Minneapolis Lakers to establish their first dynasty. The 6-foot-10-inch center won five championships between 1949 and 1954, setting off a tradition of center dominating the game. After McCann, the confrontation between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain became the main theme of the 1960s. Russell led the Celtics to create an unprecedented eight-game championship, while Chamberlain set a record that no one can break so far, including 100 points in a single game and averaging 50.4 points per game in a single season. In the 1970s, as Jabbar entered the NBA from the NCAA, the dominance of the American center reached its peak. The UCLA super center averaged 28.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in the rookie season, winning the best rookie without any suspense. In 1971, he led the Bucks to win the championship and was elected as the MVP in the Finals, and then won the MVP in the regular season twice in 1972 and 1974. Jabbar's "Tian Gou" has become one of the most unsolvable offensive weapons in NBA history, and his success further consolidates the dominance of local American players in the league. In the 1980s, the NBA entered the "black and white" era of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. The confrontation between these two local American geniuses not only saved the NBA with low ratings at the time, but also pushed the league to a new level. As a model of white players, Bird won the MVP for three consecutive years (1984-1986); while the Magic led the Lakers to pioneer the "Showtime" era with his gorgeous passes and leadership. Their showdown is not limited to the stadium, but has become an American cultural phenomenon, further strengthening the NBA's image as a local American league. In the early 1990s, Michael Jordan's rise pushed the dominance of native American players to the peak. The North Carolina scored three consecutive championships and finals MVPs from 1991 to 1993, and won the regular season MVP three times in 1988, 1991 and 1992. Jordan not only conquered the league with his unparalleled personal abilities, but also raised the NBA's global influence to an unprecedented level. His success dwarfs international players, and seems to once again confirm the absolute advantage of American basketball.

However, just during Jordan's first retirement, an international player from Nigeria broke the situation. Hakeem Olajuwon led the Houston Rockets to win the first championship in team history in 1994, and won three major awards: regular season MVP, finals MVP and defensive player of the year. The African center, who graduated from the University of Houston, has completely changed the offensive style of inside players with his unique "dream footsteps" technology. In 1995, Olajuwon won the MVP again, becoming the only international player in the 20th century to win this honor many times. His success not only proves that international players can also reach the peak level of the NBA, but also paves the way for latecomers.

Olajuwon's success was particularly prominent at the time, because for a long time before and after him, the MVP awards were monopolized by local American players. From Moses Malone (1979, 1982, 1983) to Carl Malone (1997, 1999), from Allen Iverson (2001) to Tim Duncan (2002, 2003), these MVP winners are all basketball geniuses who grew up in the United States without exception. This situation was not completely broken until the 21st century - in 2005, Canadian-born Steve Nash became the first international player to win an MVP in the 21st century, and then Dirk Nowitzki (2007), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019, 2020) and Nikola Jokic (2021, 2022) won this honor one after another.

Looking back on the history of the NBA's MVP in the 20th century, the dominance of native American players is indeed amazing. This advantage is not only reflected in personal honor, but also in the team's record and national team performance. From 1950 to 2000, the US men's basketball team lost only three gold medals in the Olympics (1972, 1980, 1988), of which in 1980 was unable to participate due to political boycotts. This all-round advantage stems from the United States' perfect basketball training system, its deep basketball culture and the NBA's attractiveness as the world's highest-level league. As the only international MVP of the 20th century, Olajuwon's success was by no means accidental. He not only possesses the physical talent that African players are born with, but has also been fully trained in the American university basketball system. During his four years at Houston, he led the team to the final four three times and won the NCAA Player of the Year two consecutive years in 1983 and 1984. This systematic training of American basketball allows him to seamlessly connect the NBA's game intensity and tactical system. To a certain extent, Olajuwon's success is also the success of the American basketball training system.

At the end of the 20th century, with the advancement of the NBA's globalization strategy, international players began to pour into the league in large numbers. The amazing performance of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics "Dream Team" made basketball teenagers all over the world dream of one day on the NBA stage. However, before the 21st century, except for Olajuwon, most of these international players played role players, and few examples of challenging the core status of American superstars. Although outstanding international players such as Divac, Petrovic, Schlumpf performed well, they still have a clear gap from the MVP level.