The Twelve Best Individual Seasons Ever

During the course of its 70-year history, there have been lots of incredible players to play in the NBA. Some of them have had seasons that have been talked about for decades, whether it happened ten, twenty or fifty years ago. Since i could not narrow it to ten, i chose my favourite twelve. Here are my top twelve seasons ever by a single player:

12-LeBron James (12-13): in his third year as a member of the Heat, the Hammer from Akron lead them to 27 straight wins and a third title in seven years, the second for him. He won all the duels against KD and Kobe and took home his fourth MVP in five years.

11-Kobe Bryant (05-06): Kobe did what he does best during the 2006 season: scoring. He averaged 35 points but, above all, he scored 81 in a game and had a stretch of four straight game with 50+ points. Too bad for him, he did not have the right supporting cast, and was eliminated in the first round.

10-Michael Jordan (87-88): during his fourth season in the league, MJ proved that he was the next big star by destroying the competition and winning his first MVP, which he would go on to win four more times. He lead the league in both scoring and steals, living no doubt that he was the most dominan two-way player in the game. His stats: 35 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals on 53% shooting.

9-Magic Johnson (86-87): in a season in which he would win his fourth crown alongside Jabbar and Worthy, Magic put up a season for the ages. He lead the Lakers to 65 wins while averaging 24 points, 12 assists, six rebounds on 52% shooting.

8-Tim Duncan (02-03): the best power forward ever showed glimpses of that during the 2001-2002 season, but he came back even better the next year to capture his second consecutive MVP of the regular seasons, all of this surrounded by a not-so-good supporting cast. His stats? 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

7-Wilt Chamberlain (61-62): Wilt is probably the best ever when it comes to filling the stat sheet, and he did just that 52 years ago,when he led the Philadelphia Warriors to just 49 wins, but averaging 50 points and 25 rebounds a game.

6-Hakeem Olajuwon (93-94): in a season in which he would end up claiming the title with a subpar Rockets team, the center from Nigeria also made it clear during the year that he was the best and that no one was stopping him. His stats were 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and almost four blocks.

5-Larry Bird (85-86): "The Hick from French Lick" is among the smartest ballers ever, and the 86 season is his masterpiece. He brought yet another title for the Celtics (the third one for him), as well as his third MVP in a row, becoming only the second player to do it, joining Bill Russell in that exclusive club.

4-Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (70-71): the most skilled and endurable big man ever won six MVPs, but this one was the one that stands out the most. In a year in which he guided the Bucks to 66 wins and their only championship, he netted 31 points per game and 16 rebounds with 57% shooting.

3-Michael Jordan (90-91): averaging 32 points, five assists and five rebounds on 54% shooting, MJ won his first title against an old Magic Johnson in the 1991 season, which saw the passing of the torch between arguably the two best basketball players to ever live.

2-LeBron James (08-09): during his sixth season, The King showed that he was a different beast. For me, this is the closest thing to perfection that we can see on a basketball court. LeBron did it all: leading, rebounding, passing, defending, scoring, getting to the rim...His series against the Orlando Magic were epic, in which he had 38.8 points, eight rebounds and eight assists a game, even if he ended up in the losing side.  

1-Shaquille O´Neal (99-00): The Big Diesel has the most dominant season of them all. Alongside Kobe Bryant, O´neal capped off an MVP season with his first ring against Reggie Miller´s Pacers in the Finals. His stats show complete dominance: 30 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks on 57% shooting.