On May 19, 1987, former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson was named MVP, winning the award for the first time in his career. Johnson went on to earn MVP honors again in 1989 and 1990.
Johnson received 65 of 78 first-place votes and a total of 788 points in balloting. En route to becoming just the second player in NBA history to score more than 3,000 points in a single season, Michael Jordan placed second in voting with 449 points (10 first-place votes).
He was followed by Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, who received just one first-place vote and 271 overall points.