Looking Back: 1994-1995 NBA MVP

The Players

David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon made up the Top 5

Circumstances

This was the second season that Michael Jordan sat out but he did return to play in 17 games and did enough in that short time to finish 11th in the MVP race and lead the Bulls to the Eastern Finals ... The Spurs had the league's best regular season record (62-20) while the Rockets, the defending champions, finished 47-35 ... The Magic were the best team in the East (57-25) behind Shaq and Penny Hardaway ... With Charles Barkley finishing 6th in the voting, it was truly a year dominated by big men ... The Rockets swept the Magic in the Finals for their second straight title after thrashing the Spurs in the Western Finals

The Stats

Here is how the Top 5 did statistically in 1994-1995 (bold indcates league leader):

1. David Robinson - 27.6 Points, 10.8 Rebounds, 3.2 Blocks
2. Shaquille O'Neal - 29.3 Points, 11.4 Rebounds, 2.4 Blocks
3. Karl Malone - 26.7 Points, 10.6 Rebounds, 3.5 Assists
4. Patrick Ewing - 23.9 Points, 11.0 Rebounds, 2.0 Blocks
5. Hakeem Olajuwon - 27.8 Points, 10.8 Rebounds, 3.4 Blocks

The Verdict

It's hard to argue with Robinson's selection and the protesters usually point to Olajuwon's domination of The Admiral in the Western Finals and his slightly better regular season stats but the Spurs were the NBA's best regular season team and Robinson was their best player.

I would make an argument for Shaq but his stats were not overwhelmingly better than Robinson's.

Unless the challenge flag gets tossed forcing further review, it looks like the voters got it right.