1979 NBA MVP: Moses Malone (Houston Rockets)
1979 NBA Most Valuable Player: Moses Malone (Houston Rockets)
The 1979 NBA Most Valuable Player was Moses Malone of the Houston Rockets. According to the NBA's official list of MVP winners, the award for 1979 went to him — the 3rd of his career.
Award at a Glance
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Award | NBA Most Valuable Player |
| Winner | Moses Malone |
| Team | Houston Rockets |
| Career wins | 3rd |
Why It Mattered
The 1979 MVP honored the most dominant and consistent player across the full 82-game regular season. Moses Malone earned it on the strength of his season-long body of work with the Houston Rockets.
Notably, this was not a one-off. Moses Malone appears on the NBA Most Valuable Player list 3 times, which is exactly why queries like "1979 Moses Malone mvp" keep attracting search interest year after year.
<!-- Depth details to be added by hand (never invent): series matchup, pivotal games, per-game averages. -->The Other Award That Year
Two individual prizes were handed out in 1979: the NBA Most Valuable Player and the Finals MVP.
- This page's award (NBA Most Valuable Player): Moses Malone (Houston Rockets)
- The same year's other award (Finals MVP): Dennis Johnson (Seattle SuperSonics)
They went to different players — a clean reminder that "best over a whole season" and "most decisive when it mattered most" are two separate questions.
For the distinction between the two awards, see Finals MVP vs MVP.
Year-by-Year Timeline
- Next (1980): Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) → 1980 NBA Most Valuable Player
- Previous (1978): Bill Walton (Portland Trail Blazers) → 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player
Related Reading
- Complete List of NBA Finals MVPs (1969–2026)
- The History of the Finals MVP Award
- What Is the NBA Finals MVP Award?
- NBA MVP vs Finals MVP: What's the Difference?
- Moses Malone honor timeline
- 1979 NBA Finals MVP: Dennis Johnson (Seattle SuperSonics)
Sources
Year, winner and team data on this page were verified against the NBA's official MVP winners list (NBA.com history mvp-winners) and Basketball-Reference public records, cross-checked against this site's two internal reference lists (last verified 2026-08-15).
FMVP Club — Independent fan site, not affiliated with the NBA.
