NBA Rookie of the Year Award explained
The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, named after the former Philadelphia Warriors head coach. Since the 2022–23 NBA season, winners receive the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy, named after the former Rookie of the Year winner.
The winner is selected by a panel of United States and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters,[1] each casting first-, second-, and third-place votes (worth five points, three points, and one point, respectively). The player(s) with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.[2]
The most recent Rookie of the Year winner is Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Twenty-two winners were drafted first overall. Sixteen winners have also won the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in their careers with Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld earning both honors the same season. Thirty of the non-active winners have been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Three seasons had joint winners—Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie in the, Grant Hill and Jason Kidd in the, and Elton Brand and Steve Francis in the 1999–2000 season.[3] Seven players won the award unanimously (by capturing all of the first-place votes)—Lew Alcindor, Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Victor Wembanyama.[4]
Patrick Ewing of Jamaica,[5] Pau Gasol of Spain, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons of Australia, Andrew Wiggins of Canada, Luka Dončić of Slovenia, and Victor Wembanyama of France are the only winners not born in the United States. Three of these individuals have dual nationality by birth—Wiggins and Simmons have American fathers, and both of Irving's parents are Americans. Ewing immigrated to the Boston area at age 11, Irving moved to the United States at age 2, and Wiggins and Simmons moved to the U.S. while in high school. Gasol, Dončić, and Wembanyama are the only winners trained entirely outside the United States.
Chamberlain (Harlem Globetrotters), Gasol (FC Barcelona of Liga ACB and EuroLeague), Dončić (Real Madrid of Liga ACB and EuroLeague), LaMelo Ball (BC Prienai of the Lithuanian Basketball League, the Los Angeles Ballers of the JBA, and the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL), and Wembanyama (Nanterre 92, ASVEL, and Metropolitans 92 of LNB Élite) all had professional careers outside the NBA prior to being drafted. Ball also had previously won the NBL Rookie of the Year Award.
Winners
Unofficial winners
Prior to the season, the Rookie of the Year was selected by newspaper writers;[7] however, the NBA does not officially recognize those players as winners. The league published the pre-1953 winners in their 1994–95 edition of the Official NBA Guide and the 1994 Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia, but those winners have not been listed in subsequent publications.[8] [9]
Teams
| Awards | Teams | Players | Years |
|---|
| 6 | Golden State Warriors / San Francisco Warriors / Philadelphia Warriors | Woody Sauldsberry, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Jamaal Wilkes, Mitch Richmond, Chris Webber | , (as Philadelphia)
(as San Francisco)
,, |
| 5 | Los Angeles Clippers / San Diego Clippers / Buffalo Braves | Bob McAdoo, Ernie DiGregorio, Adrian Dantley, Terry Cummings, Blake Griffin | ,, (as Buffalo)
(as San Diego)
|
| Sacramento Kings / Kansas City Kings / Cincinnati Royals / Rochester Royals | Maurice Stokes, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Phil Ford, Tyreke Evans | (as Rochester)
, (as Cincinnati)
(as Kansas City) |
| 4 | Portland Trail Blazers | Geoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, Brandon Roy, Damian Lillard | ,,, |
| Washington Wizards / Baltimore Bullets / Chicago Zephyrs / Chicago Packers | Walt Bellamy, Terry Dischinger, Earl Monroe, Wes Unseld | (as Chicago Packers)
(as Chicago Zephyrs)
, (as Baltimore) |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | Tom Heinsohn, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird | ,, |
| Charlotte Hornets / Charlotte Bobcats | Larry Johnson, Emeka Okafor, LaMelo Ball | , (as Charlotte Bobcats), |
| Chicago Bulls | Michael Jordan, Elton Brand, Derrick Rose | ,, |
| Detroit Pistons / Fort Wayne Pistons | Don Meineke, Dave Bing, Grant Hill | (as Fort Wayne),, |
| New York Knicks | Willis Reed, Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson | ,, |
| Orlando Magic | Shaquille O'Neal, Mike Miller, Paolo Banchero | ,, |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Allen Iverson, Michael Carter-Williams, Ben Simmons | ,, |
| Phoenix Suns | Alvan Adams, Walter Davis, Amar'e Stoudemire | ,, |
| San Antonio Spurs | David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Victor Wembanyama | ,, |
| Toronto Raptors | Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter, Scottie Barnes | ,, |
| 2 | Brooklyn Nets / New Jersey Nets | Buck Williams, Derrick Coleman | (as New Jersey), (as New Jersey) |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | LeBron James, Kyrie Irving | , |
| Dallas Mavericks | Jason Kidd, Luka Dončić | , |
| Houston Rockets | Ralph Sampson, Steve Francis | , |
| Memphis Grizzlies | Pau Gasol, Ja Morant | , |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Lew Alcindor, Malcolm Brogdon | , |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns | , |
| 1 | Atlanta Hawks / Milwaukee Hawks | Bob Pettit | (as Milwaukee) |
| Baltimore Bullets | Ray Felix | |
| Indiana Pacers | Chuck Person | |
| Los Angeles Lakers / Minneapolis Lakers | Elgin Baylor | (as Minneapolis) |
| New Orleans Pelicans / Oklahoma City Hornets | Chris Paul | (as New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder / Seattle SuperSonics | Kevin Durant | (as Seattle) |
| Utah Jazz | Darrell Griffith | |
| 0 | Denver Nuggets | None |
| Miami Heat |
|
See also
References
- General
- Web site: Rookie of the Year Award . April 27, 2007 . Turner Sports Interactive, Inc . NBA.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20100329231204/http://www.nba.com/history/awards_rookieofyear.html. March 29, 2010. dead.
- Web site: Rookie of the Year Award Winners . July 7, 2008 . basketball-reference.com. March 7, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110307060322/http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/roy.html. live.
- Specific
Notes and References
- Web site: Wolves' Towns named 2015–16 Kia Rookie of the Year . NBA.com . May 16, 2016 . November 21, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160516152942/http://www.nba.com/2016/news/05/16/karl-anthony-towns-named-kia-rookie-of-the-year-award-winner/index.html. May 16, 2016. dead.
- Web site: Trail Blazers' Brandon Roy Named 2006-07 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year . July 10, 2008 . May 3, 2007 . Turner Sports Interactive, Inc . NBA.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20120116115620/http://www.nba.com/news/awards2007_rookie.html. January 16, 2012. dead.
- Web site: Brand, Francis named NBA co-rookies of the year . July 13, 2008 . November 10, 2000 . CBC Sports. November 4, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121104121318/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2000/05/09/rookie000509.html. live.
- Web site: It's unanimous: Karl-Anthony Towns gets every first-place vote for Rookie of the Year . StarTribune.com . Minneapolis Star Tribune . May 16, 2016 . May 16, 2016.
- Web site: Bargnani becomes first European top NBA draft pick . June 16, 2008 . People's Daily Online . June 29, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20121011015037/http://english.people.com.cn/200606/29/eng20060629_278441.html. October 11, 2012. dead.
- Web site: 2024 Hall of Fame Candidates . basketball-reference.com . November 8, 2021.
- News: Friedman . David . Bill Tosheff: NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and Tireless Advocate for the "Pre-1965ers . 20 Second Timeout . March 2, 2009 . September 1, 2011 . August 17, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110817120002/http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/2009/03/bill-tosheff-nba-co-rookie-of-year-and_02.html . live.
- News: Goldstein . Allan . NBA forgot it honored Hoffman . October 30, 1994 . The Baltimore Sun . September 1, 2011 . October 1, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121001184428/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1994-10-30/sports/1994303066_1_hoffman-paul-arizin-alex-groza . live.
- Book: Sachare, Alex . The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia . 371 . . New York . 1994 . 978-0-679-43293-7.
France