Naismith College Player of the Year
Awarded for | The most outstanding male and female basketball player |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Presented by | Atlanta Tipoff Club |
History | |
First award | 1969 |
Most recent | Men: Zach Edey, Purdue Women: Caitlin Clark, Iowa |
Website | naismithtrophy |
The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.
History and selection
[edit]First awarded exclusively to male players in 1969, the award was expanded to include female players in 1983. Annually before the college season begins in November, a "watchlist" consisting of 50 players is chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club board of selectors, comprising head coaches, administrators and media members from across the United States. By February, the list of nominees is narrowed down to 30 players based on performance. In March, four out of the 30 players are selected as finalists and are placed in the final ballot. The final winners are selected in April by both the board of selectors and fan voting via text messaging.[1][2] The winners receive the Naismith Trophy.
Since its beginning in 1969, the trophy has been awarded to 44 male players and 24 female players. Lew Alcindor of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Anne Donovan of Old Dominion University were the first winners, respectively. Bill Walton of UCLA, Ralph Sampson of the University of Virginia, and Zach Edey of Purdue have been the only men to win this award multiple times, with the former two players winning three times and Edey winning it twice. Nine women in all have won this award multiple times. Cheryl Miller of the University of Southern California and Breanna Stewart of the University of Connecticut (UConn) are the only three-time winners, while eight others have won it twice: Clarissa Davis of the University of Texas, Dawn Staley of the University of Virginia, Chamique Holdsclaw of the University of Tennessee, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore of UConn, Seimone Augustus of Louisiana State University, Brittney Griner of Baylor University, and Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa. Davis and Moore are the only players of either sex to have won multiple times in non-consecutive years.
Three award winners, two men and one woman, were born in United States territories:
- Alfred "Butch" Lee, who was born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and
- Tim Duncan and Aliyah Boston, both born in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The only award winners who have been born outside the jurisdiction of the United States were:
- Andrew Bogut, born in Melbourne, Australia.
- Patrick Ewing, born in Kingston, Jamaica.
- Buddy Hield, born in Freeport, Bahamas.
- Oscar Tshiebwe, born in Lubumbashi, DR Congo.
- Zach Edey, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Six of these players were developed at least partially in the U.S. proper—Lee was raised in Harlem from early childhood; Ewing immigrated to the Boston area at age 12; Boston moved to Worcester, Massachusetts at the same age; Hield attended high school in suburban Wichita, Kansas; Tshiebwe attended high schools in southwestern Virginia and western Pennsylvania; and Edey spent his last two high school years in Florida. Duncan did not move to the U.S. proper until he arrived at Wake Forest University, and Bogut lived in Australia until his arrival at the University of Utah.
Duke has had the most male winners with eight, while UConn has had the most female winners, with eleven awards won by seven individuals. The award has been won by a freshman four times: Kevin Durant playing for Texas in 2007, in 2012 by Anthony Davis of Kentucky, Zion Williamson of Duke in 2019, and Paige Bueckers of UConn in 2021.
Winners
[edit]* | Denotes players inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has won the award |
Men
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar_UCLA.jpeg/170px-Kareem_Abdul-Jabbar_UCLA.jpeg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Durant.png/170px-Durant.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Obi_Toppin.jpg/170px-Obi_Toppin.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Luka_Garza_2020.jpg/170px-Luka_Garza_2020.jpg)
Women
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Cheryl_Miller_in_Final_Four_game_against_Tennessee.jpg/170px-Cheryl_Miller_in_Final_Four_game_against_Tennessee.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Breanna_Stewart_2015.jpg/170px-Breanna_Stewart_2015.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Paige_Bueckers_vs_St._Johns_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Paige_Bueckers_vs_St._Johns_%28cropped%29.jpg)
- Notes
See also
[edit]- List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards
- Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award
References
[edit]- ^ "Naismith Trophy Fact Sheet". Naismith Awards. Archived from the original on February 4, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
- ^ "The Naismith Trophy History". Naismith Awards. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
- ^ "Scout.com: Redick Wins Naismith Award". Duke.scout.com. April 3, 2006. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ "Kevin Durant Wins 2007 Naismith Award – Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site". Big12sports.com. April 2, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ "Press Release – April 6, 2008". Atlantatipoffclub.com. Retrieved April 5, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Blake Griffin Claims Naismith Trophy, NABC and Newell Awards – Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site". Big12sports.com. March 20, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Baptist, Bob. "OSU men's basketball: Turner wins Naismith Trophy | BuckeyeXtra". Dispatch.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2019-04-07/zion-williamson-wins-naismith-trophy-2019-most-outstanding [bare URL]
- ^ a b "Ionescu and Toppin Named 2020 Citizen Naismith Trophy Winners" (Press release). Atlanta Tipoff Club. April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "Iowa's Luka Garza named 2021 Naismith Trophy winner". NCAA.com. April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Cooley, SEC's Tshiebwe, Kessler Named 2022 Men's Naismith Awards Winners" (Press release). Atlanta Tipoff Club. April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ "Naismith Trophy Postseason Awards". Peach State Basketball. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Pac-12 Player of the Century Cheryl Miller Leads Trojan-Studded Pac-12 All-Century Womens Basketball Team". www.usctrojans.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ iThemesLab. "Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil - Women's Basketball Hall of Fame". www.wbhof.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "ST. FRANCIS (NY) COACH SUE WICKS: INTERNATIONAL NBA ENVOY". www.sfc.edu. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Articles about Naismith Award - latimes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "University of San Francisco Dons Athletics - 2014-15 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff". www.usfdons.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "Dawn Staley to be Honored With UVa's Distinguished Alumna Award". www.virginiasports.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Sheryl Swoopes elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame". Hoopfeed.com. April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Trojan Great Lisa Leslie Named To Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame". www.usctrojans.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ jjackson. "1995 NCAA Woman of the Year". NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Hall of Famers: Rebecca Lobo". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "Saudia Roundtree Bio - UCF Knights - Official Athletics Site". www.ucfknights.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Kate Starbird, former basketball star, chooses a different route — as usual". The Seattle Times. March 5, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "Inside Chamique Holdsclaw: From Basketball Super Star to Mental Health Activist". Buzzflash. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Tamika Catchings continues to build legacy after Lady Vols career". The Daily Beacon. January 20, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Ruth Riley Named Naismith Player of the Year". www.und.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ Congressional Record V. 148, Pt. 4, April 11, 2002 to April 24, 2002. Government Printing Office. May 2006. ISBN 978-0-16-076081-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g "UConn's Breanna Stewart named 2016 Women's Naismith Trophy winner". NCAA.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "Seimone Augustus Bio". LSUsports.net. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Harding takes home Naismith NPOY award". The Duke Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Candace Parker Wins 2008 Naismith Trophy". www.utsports.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ Courant, Hartford (April 6, 2010). "Tina Charles Wins Naismith Award". courant.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Baylor University || Baylor Nation || News". www.baylor.edu. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Griner Wins Second Straight Naismith Trophy". www.baylorbears.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "South Carolina's A'ja Wilson wins Naismith Women's Basketball Player of the Year Award". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
- ^ "2019 Women's Citizen Naismith Trophy and Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Both Claimed by Iowa" (Press release). Atlanta Tipoff Club. April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ^ "UConn freshman Paige Bueckers named 2021 Naismith Trophy winner". NCAA.com. April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Clark and Staley Repeat as 2024 Naismith Award Winners; Brink Claims Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Honors" (Press release). Atlanta Tipoff Club. April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.