The Continental Basketball Association Rookie of the Year was an annual award given to the best rookie(s) of the regular season of the CBA. The award was given to players on their first CBA season and with no prior professional experience.
The award was established in 1957, when the league was operating under the name Eastern Professional Basketball League. The first winner was Dick Gaines, from Seton Hall. In 1970 the league changed its name, becoming the Eastern Basketball Association. In 1975–76, for the first time in CBA history, the award was shared by two players: Mo Rivers (from NC State) and Walter Luckett (from Ohio). In 1977 a new award, the Newcomer of the Year, was created: while the Rookie of the Year was given to players on their first season with no experience in professional leagues, the Newcomer of the Year was given to players who already had professional experience. In 1996–97 the award was shared by Bernard Hopkins (from VCU) and Jason Sasser (from Texas Tech): Sasser was also called up in the NBA by the San Antonio Spurs. In 2001–02 Rookie of the Year Kenny Inge had started the 2001-02 season with BC Žalgiris in Lithuania, and joined the Rockford Lightning of the CBA on December 20, 2001. Only two players won the Rookie of the Year award and the Player of the Year award during their career: Julius McCoy (Rookie of the Year in 1959, Player of the Year in 1966) and Ken Wilburn (Rookie of the Year in 1967, Player of the Year in 1968 and 1974).
| ^ | ||
| Denotes player whose team won championship that year | ||
| Ref | Reference | |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been named MVP | |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
| Season | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957–58 | Dick Gaines | Guard | Easton Madisons | |||
| 1958–59 | Julius McCoy | Forward | Williamsport Billies | |||
| 1959–60 | Alonzo Lewis | Guard | Sunbury Mercuries | |||
| 1960–61 | Dave Gunther | Forward | Williamsport Billies (2) | |||
| 1961–62 | Jim Huggard | Guard | Sunbury Mercuries (2) | |||
| 1962–63 | Emerson Baynard | Forward | Sunbury Mercuries (3) | |||
| 1963–64 | Ken Rohloff | Guard | Sunbury Mercuries (4) | |||
| 1964–65 | Swish McKinney | Guard | Wilmington Blue Bombers | |||
| 1965–66 | Bob Love | Forward | Trenton Colonials | |||
| 1966–67 | Ken Wilburn | Forward | Trenton Colonials (2) | |||
| 1967–68 | Don Carlos | Guard/Forward | Hartford Capitols | |||
| 1968–69 | Richie Cornwall | Guard | Binghamton Flyers | |||
| 1969–70 | Eddie Mast | Forward | Allentown Jets | |||
| 1970–71 | Charlie Wallace | Guard/Forward | Trenton Pat Pavers | |||
| 1971–72 | Craig Mayberry | Forward | Hartford Capitols (2) | |||
| 1972–73 | Vincent White | Forward | Garden State Colonials | |||
| 1973–74 | Dennis Bell | Forward | Allentown Jets (2) | |||
| 1974–75 | Aulcie Perry | Center | Allentown Jets (3) | |||
| 1975–76 | Mo Rivers | Guard | Lancaster Red Roses | |||
| Walter Luckett | Guard | Long Island Sounds | ||||
| 1976–77 | Major Jones | Center | Allentown Jets (4) | |||
| 1977–78 | Bill Terry | Guard | Shore Bullets | |||
| 1978–79 | Billy Ray Bates | Guard | Maine Lumberjacks | |||
| 1979–80 | Edgar Jones | Center | Lehigh Valley Jets | |||
| 1980–81 | Lee Johnson | Center | Rochester Zeniths | |||
| 1981–82 | Larry Spriggs | Forward | Rochester Zeniths (2) | |||
| 1982–83 | Mike Sanders | Guard | Montana Golden Nuggets | |||
| 1983–84 | Greg Jones | Guard | Wisconsin Flyers | |||
| 1984–85 | Eric Turner | Guard | Detroit Spirits | |||
| 1985–86 | Michael Adams | Guard | Bay State Bombardiers | |||
| 1986–87 | Ron Rowan | Guard | Topeka Sizzlers | |||
| 1987–88 | Jamie Waller | Guard | Quad City Thunder, Charleston Gunners | |||
| 1988–89 | Daren Queenan | Guard | Charleston Gunners (2) | |||
| 1989–90 | Clifford Lett | Guard | Pensacola Tornados | |||
| 1990–91 | Stephen Thompson | Guard | Rapid City Thrillers | |||
| 1991–92 | Marcus Kennedy | Forward/center | Grand Rapids Hoops | |||
| 1992–93 | Gerald Madkins | Guard | Grand Rapids Hoops (2) | |||
| 1993–94 | Alphonso Ford | Guard | Tri-City Chinook | |||
| 1994–95 | Kendrick Warren | Forward | Rockford Lightning | |||
| 1995–96 | Ray Jackson | Forward | Grand Rapids Mackers (3) | |||
| 1996–97 | Bernard Hopkins | Forward | Yakima Sun Kings | |||
| Jason Sasser | Forward | Sioux Falls Skyforce | ||||
| 1997–98 | Alvin Sims | Guard | Quad City Thunder | |||
| 1998–99 | Bakari Hendrix | Forward | Quad City Thunder (2) | |||
| 1999–2000 | Jamel Thomas | Guard/Forward | Quad City Thunder (3) | [1] | ||
| 2000–01 | ||||||
| 2001–02 | Kenny Inge | Forward | Rockford Lightning (2) | [2] | ||
| 2002–03 | Immanuel McElroy | Guard | Grand Rapids Hoops (4) | [3] | ||
| 2003–04 | David Bailey | Guard | Idaho Stampede | [4] | ||
| 2004–05 | Jackie Butler | Forward/center | Great Lakes Storm | [5] | ||
| 2005–06 | Roger Powell | Forward | Rockford Lightning (3) | [6] | ||
| 2006–07 | Travis Garrison | Forward | Great Falls Explorers | [7] | ||
| 2007–08 | Anthony Washington | Forward/center | Yakama Sun Kings (2) | [8] | ||