Basketball fans remember 2007 for a lot of reasons, but mostly for the weird, bittersweet tension of the trophy presentation. If you’re asking who won mvp in 2007, the answer is Dirk Nowitzki. He was the first European player to ever snag the award. Honestly, he deserved it based on the regular season alone, but the timing was absolutely brutal.
He didn't get the trophy in front of a roaring home crowd during a deep playoff run. Instead, he had to accept it at a press conference in Dallas after his team had already been booted from the first round by an eight-seed. It felt off. It felt quiet. But looking back, that doesn't change how dominant the Big German actually was during those 82 games.
The Dallas Mavericks were an absolute buzzsaw that year. They won 67 games. Let that sink in for a second. In an era where the Western Conference was a literal bloodbath featuring prime Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash, Dallas just steamrolled everyone. Dirk was the sun that the entire solar system revolved around. He joined the 50-40-90 club, which basically means he was a seven-footer shooting like Steve Kerr. He averaged 24.6 points and nearly 9 rebounds while shooting over 50% from the field, 41% from deep, and 90% from the line.
The Numbers Behind Who Won MVP in 2007
People sometimes forget how much of a lock Dirk seemed for this. He wasn't just "good." He was efficient in a way we hadn't seen from a big man.
You had Steve Nash coming off two straight MVPs, trying to make it a three-peat. Nash was incredible, leading the "Seven Seconds or Less" Suns to 61 wins. But the voters were starting to get a bit of "Nash fatigue." Then you had Kobe Bryant. Kobe was probably the best individual player on the planet in 2007. This was the year he had that insane stretch of four straight 50-point games. Seriously, four in a row. But the Lakers were mediocre. They won 42 games and barely scraped into the playoffs. In the NBA, you almost never win MVP if your team is a seventh seed.
Dirk had the narrative. He had the wins. He had the efficiency.
The Mavericks started the season 0-4. People thought they had a Finals hangover after losing to Dwyane Wade and the Heat in '06. Then they went on a tear that basically didn't end until April. They had winning streaks of 12, 13, and 17 games. Think about that. Most teams are happy to win five in a row. Dallas was putting up historic numbers, and Dirk was the primary reason why. He was hitting one-legged fadeaways before they were a global phenomenon.
Why the Vote Wasn't Even Close
When the ballots came in, it wasn't a tight race. Dirk took 83 first-place votes. Nash got 44.
The gap was significant because Dallas finished six games ahead of Phoenix. In the MVP world, wins are the ultimate tiebreaker. Dirk was also doing it with a supporting cast that—while very good—didn't have another All-NBA First Team talent. He had Josh Howard, who was an All-Star that year, and a savvy veteran in Jason Terry. But Dirk was the engine. When the game was on the line, everyone knew the ball was going to the high post. And they still couldn't stop it.
The "We Believe" Warriors and the MVP Curse
Here is where the story of who won mvp in 2007 gets complicated and, frankly, a little sad for Mavs fans.
The playoffs started. Dallas was the number one seed. They drew the Golden State Warriors, a team that had barely made the playoffs. But the Warriors were coached by Don Nelson. "Nellie" knew Dirk better than anyone because he had coached him for years in Dallas. He knew exactly how to rattle him. He put smaller, scrappy defenders like Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis on him. They bumped him. They got under his jersey. They didn't let him get comfortable.
It was a nightmare.
Dallas lost in six games. It was only the third time in NBA history that an eight-seed beat a one-seed in a best-of-seven series. Because the MVP award is voted on before the playoffs start but announced during the playoffs, the timing was a disaster. Dirk had to stand there in a suit, holding a trophy, while the world watched him fail to get out of the first round.
It led to a lot of talk about whether the voting process should change. People were calling him "Soft" or saying he couldn't win the big one. It took Dirk four more years to exercise those demons against Miami in 2011, but the 2007 MVP win will always be tethered to that Golden State upset.
Comparisons to Other Great Seasons
If you look at the 2006-2007 season statistically, Dirk’s Win Shares were off the charts. He led the league in Win Shares (16.3) and Win Shares per 48 minutes. He was simply more valuable to his team’s success than anyone else in the league.
- Dirk Nowitzki: 24.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 50.2% FG, 41.6% 3PT.
- Steve Nash: 18.6 PPG, 11.6 APG, 53.2% FG, 45.5% 3PT.
- Kobe Bryant: 31.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.4 APG.
Nash’s shooting was actually better than Dirk’s, which is wild to think about. But the Suns had a lot of weapons. Amare Stoudemire was back and healthy. Shawn Marion was an All-Star. Dirk was carrying a heavier load in terms of being the focal point of the defense every single night without a true secondary superstar.
The Legacy of the 2007 Trophy
Does the first-round exit ruin the MVP? Honestly, no.
History has been kind to Dirk. We now recognize that 2007 was the peak of his regular-season powers. It's the season that cemented him as a future Hall of Famer. It also changed how teams scouted European players. Before Dirk, there was a stigma that European big men were just "project" players or soft perimeter shooters. Dirk proved you could build a 67-win juggernaut around a German power forward who liked to play on the wing.
If you are looking at the 2007 MVP through the lens of modern basketball, his 50-40-90 season is even more impressive. Back then, teams weren't hunting threes like they do now. Dirk was doing this in a congested, physical mid-2000s paint.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to really understand the 2007 season, don't just look at the stats. Go find the "We Believe" Warriors highlights and then watch Dirk’s MVP acceptance speech. It’s one of the most humble, awkward, and human moments in sports history.
To get a full picture of that era's basketball, check out these specific areas of study:
- Research the 50-40-90 club members to see how rare Dirk's feat actually was (only a handful of players like Bird, Curry, and Durant have done it).
- Watch the Dallas vs. Golden State 2007 Round 1 highlights to see the tactical chess match that neutralized an MVP.
- Compare the 2007 Mavs roster to the 2011 championship roster to see how Mark Cuban eventually built the right defense around Dirk.
The 2007 MVP belongs to Dirk Nowitzki. It was a deserved honor that happened at the worst possible time. It's a reminder that in sports, the regular season and the postseason are two entirely different animals, and sometimes, the best player in the world just runs into the wrong matchup at the wrong time.