The 2000s were a star-studded era for the NBA. During that decade, we saw Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant continue their dominance, as Michael Jordan eased into retirement. We also saw the rise of LeBron James and the next generation of NBA superstars that dominated the following decade.

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In that star-studded era, we saw some incredible seasons, some considered the best of all time. Most of those seasons resulted in an MVP, an award given to the best player of the season. While they're all great seasons that resulted in an MVP, there were some years that were better than others.

10 2005-2006: Steve Nash

Steve Nash
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Steve Nash's MVP seasons weren't super controversial at the time, but have grown quite criticized over the years. The reason is that while the ace point guard put up great seasons, he also wasn't the best player in the league, and many others put up better numbers than him. However, the Suns were arguably the best team in the league, so Nash won MVP.

His 2005-2006 season was the worst MVP of the decade, but it's still a solid season. He 18.8 points a game, going along with 10.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds, helped the Suns to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference.

9 2004-2005: Steve Nash

Steve Nash Suns

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Steve Nash's first MVP season is likely better than his second, likely due to the shock of it. When the point guard headed back to Phoenix in 2004, he was expected to be a great player, but nobody expected him to step up and become MVP.

While his numbers are slightly worse (15.5 points, 11.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds), the Suns were also a much better team in 2004-2005. Nash's leadership skills were also huge for the team, turning them into the best regular season in the NBA.

8 2006-2007: Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki
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Dirk Nowitzki prevented Steve Nash from getting a third straight MVP in 2006-2007. Funnily enough, the Dallas Mavericks star likely had a better season before his one and only MVP but came up short.

Nowitzki no doubt deserved his MVP, as he helped the team win 67 games behind his 26.6 points a game, to go along with 3.4 assists and 8.9 rebounds. While a great year, it was mostly overshadowed by the Mavericks losing in the opening round to the Golden State Warriors.

7 2007-2008: Kobe Bryant

Kobe-Bryant Lakers
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It's incredible that Kobe Bryant only won a single MVP in his career, but he did, with that sole award coming in the 2007-2008 season. That year, the team made the NBA Finals in a grudge match against the Boston Celtics, and it was mostly thanks to their longtime star.

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That season, it was vintage Bryant. He put up 28.3 points a game, and had 5.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds to go along with it. While not the best season of his career, it was still a great season for the Lakers great.

6 2000-2001: Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson

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Allen Iverson lit up the NBA as a point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers for most of the early 2000s. However, in the 2000-2001 season, he was at the peak of his powers, even leading the team to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

While Iverson didn't win a ring, he did win MVP for his regular season performance. His stats tell the whole story, as he average 31.1 points a game, and had 2.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game as well.

5 2002-2003: Tim Duncan

Tim-Duncan-1
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The 2002-2003 NBA season saw the San Antonio Spurs defeat the New Jersey Nets in the Finals to win a ring. The MVP of the series, Tim Duncan, got a lot of hardware that season. In addition to being NBA Finals MVP, he won the regular season award as well.

The Spurs star was arguably in his prime that season, as the stats tell the story. Duncan put up 23.3 points a game and had a career high 12.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

4 2001-2002: Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan
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When Tim Duncan won his second MVP, he was used to the feeling. Mostly considering he had just won the award 12 months previously for a virtually identical stat line, which shows the big man's consistency.

The Spurs star put up 25.5 points a game, to go along with 12.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists. This season saw Duncan start all 82 games, and his shooting stats were better as well.

3 2003-2004: Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett had been a defensive force since stepping onto an NBA court in 1995. However, nearly a decade later, the big man was at the peak of his powers not only on the defensive side of the ball but the offensive side.

Garnett put up all sorts of career bests in the 2003-2004 NBA season. Including a record-high 24.2 points a game, to go along with 13.9 rebounds and 5 assists.

2 2008-2009: LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23)  2017
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In the 2008-2009 NBA season, LeBron James got his first NBA MVP. It was clear the Cleveland Cavaliers star was on a revenge tour after being bounced in a heartbreaking series loss to the Boston Celtics the year prior.

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Behind James' efforts, the team became the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and it's not hard to see why. The Cavaliers star put up 28.4 points a game, and 7.6 rebounds with 7.2 assists.

1 1999-2000: Shaquille O'Neal

Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal

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Shaquille O'Neal is not the greatest NBA player to ever step onto the court. However, when discussing primes, the big man might be the most dominant player to ever play basketball when he was at his peak, which was likely in the 1999-2000 season.

O'Neal was virtually unstoppable in the paint at this point in time. He put up near-record highs in all categories, as he averaged 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Things were made better when the Lakers won yet another championship.