National Player of the Year
CBB History: NPOY by the numbers
If you can’t tell from any of my past articles, I love the history of basketball, and think it’s important to learn and remember what we can about the game. With that in mind, here’s a new series covering various topics from college basketball history.
National Player of the Year (NPOY)
I researched seven National Player of the Year awards: The Sporting News (SN), the Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA), the Associated Press (AP), the Naismith Trophy (N), the Rupp Trophy (Rupp), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and the John R. Wooden Award (W). The Rupp Trophy was last awarded in 2015, and there are other NPOY awards that could be included - the Helms Foundation NPOY list includes some great players - but those seven awards are currently regarded as the NPOY honors with the most historical significance.
The Sporting News first named a NPOY in 1943 (Andrew Phillip of Illinois), but did not name a winner from 1952-1957, resuming in 1958 with Oscar Robertson. The following year, the United States Basketball Writers Association made Oscar their NPOY, and named the trophy in his honor. The “Big O” would receive NPOY honors from both The Sporting News and the USBWA again in 1960. In his three seasons at Cincinnati, Robertson averaged 33.8 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists (yes, he would have been good in any era). The Associated Press named a NPOY in 1961 for the first time, as Jerry Lucas of Ohio State swept all three awards that year. In 1969, the Atlanta Tipoff Club handed out the first Naismith Trophy to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, known then as Lew Alcindor. Bill Walton, who followed Abdul-Jabbar at UCLA, won the first Rupp Trophy in 1972. Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin was the final Rupp NPOY in 2015. The National Association of Basketball Coaches made NC State’s David Thompson their first NPOY in 1975, and the Los Angeles Athletic Club first gave the Wooden Award out in 1977 to Marques Johnson of UCLA.
For the purposes of this article, and with apologies to George Mikan,1 I used 1958 as the starting point - the year The Sporting News resumed naming a National Player of the Year (i.e. facts listed below are since 1958). The years listed are the year the award was given (e.g. 1992 represents the 1991-1992 season). Okay, let’s nerd out…
13 players have won a National Player of the Year award in multiple seasons.
Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati)
SN (1958); SN, USBWA (1959, 1960)Jerry Lucas (Ohio State)
AP, SN, USBWA (1961, 1962)Bill Bradley (Princeton)
SN (1964); AP, SN, USBWA (1965)Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (UCLA)
AP, SN, USBWA (1967); USBWA (1968); AP, N, SN (1969)Pete Maravich (LSU)
USBWA (1969); AP, N, SN, USBWA (1970)Bill Walton (UCLA)
AP, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA (1972, 1973); N, Rupp, SN, USBWA (1974)David Thompson (NC State)
AP (1974); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA (1975)Mark Aguirre (DePaul)
AP, N, Rupp, USBWA (1980); SN (1981)Ralph Sampson (Virginia)
AP, N, Rupp, USBWA (1981); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1982); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, USBWA, W (1983)Michael Jordan (UNC)
SN (1983); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1984)Jay Williams (Duke)
NABC (2001); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2002)J.J. Redick - Duke
Rupp (2005); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2006)Luka Garza (Iowa)
SN (2020); AP, NABC, N, SN, USBWA, W (2021)
9 schools have had at least three different players win a National Player of the Year award.
Duke
Art Heyman - AP, SN, USBWA (1963)
Johnny Dawkins - N (1986)
Danny Ferry - N, USBWA (1989)
Christian Laettner - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1992)
Elton Brand - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1999)
Shane Battier - AP, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2001)
Jay Williams - NABC (2001); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2002)
J.J. Redick - Rupp (2005); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2006)
Zion Williamson - AP, NABC, N, SN, USBWA, W (2019)Indiana
Scott May - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN (1976)
Calbert Cheaney - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1993)
Victor Oladipo - Rupp, SN (2013)Kansas
Danny Manning - NABC, N, W (1988)
Drew Gooden - NABC (2002)
Nick Collison - NABC (2003)
Frank Mason - AP, NABC, N, SN, USBWA, W (2017)Kentucky
John Wall - Rupp (2010)
Anthony Davis - AP, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2012)
Oscar Tshiebwe - AP, NABC, N, SN, USBWA, W (2022)Michigan State
Shawn Respert - NABC, SN (1995)
Draymond Green - NABC (2012)
Denzel Valentine - AP, NABC (2016)North Carolina
Phil Ford - NABC, SN, USBWA, W (1978)
Michael Jordan - SN (1983); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1984)
Antawn Jamison - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1998)
Tyler Hansbrough - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2008)Ohio State
Jerry Lucas - AP, SN, USBWA (1961, 1962)
Gary Bradds - AP (1964)
Evan Turner - AP, NABC, N, SN, USBWA, W (2010)Oklahoma
Stacey King - SN (1989)
Blake Griffin - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2009)
Buddy Hield - N, SN, USBWA, W (2016)UCLA
Walt Hazzard - USBWA (1964)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - AP, SN, USBWA (1967); USBWA (1968); AP, N, SN (1969)
Sidney Wicks - SN, USBWA (1971)
Bill Walton - AP, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA (1972 & 1973); N, Rupp, SN, USBWA (1974)
Marques Johnson - AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1977)
Ed O’Bannon - USBWA, W (1995)The following schools have had at least two different players win a NPOY award:
BYU, Cincinnati, La Salle, LSU, Michigan, Purdue, St. John’s, and Texas.
3 seasons have had co-winners of a National Player of the Year award.
2002 - Drew Gooden (Kansas) & Jay Williams (Duke) - NABC
2004 - Jameer Nelson (Saint Joseph’s) & Emeka Okafor (Connecticut) - NABC
2006 - Adam Morrison (Gonzaga) & J.J. Redick (Duke) - USBWA, W
3 schools have had two different players win a National Player of the Year award in consecutive seasons.
St. John’s
Chris Mullin - USBWA, W (1985)
Walter Berry - AP, NABC, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (1986)Duke
Shane Battier - AP, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2001)
Jay Williams - NABC (2001); AP, NABC, N, Rupp, SN, USBWA, W (2002)Kansas
Drew Gooden - NABC (2002)
Nick Collison - NABC (2003)Duke is the only school to have two different players win a NPOY award in the same season - Shane Battier and Jay Williams in 2001.
11 players have won a National Player of the Year award and been named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the Final Four in the same season.
Jerry Lucas - Ohio State (1961)
Art Heyman - Duke (1963)
Bill Bradley - Princeton (1965)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - UCLA (1967, 1968, 1969)
Bill Walton - UCLA (1972, 1973)
David Thompson - NC State (1974)
Danny Manning - Kansas (1988)
Ed O’Bannon - UCLA (1995)
Shane Battier - Duke (2001)
Emeka Okafor - Connecticut (2004)
Anthony Davis - Kentucky (2012)It’s noteworthy that the first three players - Lucas, Heyman, and Bradley - were all named MOP despite losing in the Final Four.2 Three more players won MOP and followed that up with a NPOY award the next season: Butch Lee (Marquette) won MOP in 1977 and NPOY in 1978; Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) won MOP in 1984 and NPOY in 1985; and Christian Laettner (Duke) won MOP in 1991 and NPOY in 1992.
6 seasons have had three different players win a National Player of the Year award.
1964 - Gary Bradds (Ohio State), Walt Hazzard (UCLA), Bill Bradley (Princeton)
1980 - Mark Aguirre (DePaul), Michael Brooks (La Salle), Darrell Griffith (Louisville)
1981 - Ralph Sampson (Virginia), Mark Aguirre (DePaul), Danny Ainge (BYU)
1995 - Joe Smith (Maryland), Ed O’Bannon (UCLA), Shawn Respert (Michigan State)
2003 - David West (Xavier), T.J. Ford (Texas), Nick Collison (Kansas)
2005 - Andrew Bogut (Utah), Dee Brown (Illinois), J.J. Redick (Duke)39 seasons have had a single player sweep the NPOY awards, and 21 seasons have had two different players win a NPOY award.
9 National Player of the Year winners have averaged 30 points-per-game.
44.5 ppg - Pete Maravich (LSU) - 1970
38.0 ppg - Austin Carr (Notre Dame) - 1971
36.8 ppg - Elvin Hayes (Houston) - 1968
36.3 ppg - Hersey Hawkins (Bradley) - 1988
35.1 ppg - Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati) - 1958
32.3 ppg - Bill Bradley (Princeton) - 1964
30.8 ppg - Cazzie Russell (Michigan) - 1966
30.6 ppg - Gary Bradds (Ohio State) - 1964
30.3 ppg - Glenn Robinson (Purdue) - 1994Maravich, Robertson, and Bradley did so in multiple seasons,3 with their highest scoring average listed above. Some other guys just missed averaging 30 ppg in their NPOY season: David Thompson (NC State) averaged 29.9 ppg in 1975; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (UCLA) averaged 29.0 ppg in 1967; Jimmer Fredette (BYU) averaged 28.9 ppg in 2011; Larry Bird (Indiana State) averaged 28.6 ppg in 1979; David Robinson (Navy) averaged 28.2 ppg in 1987; and Adam Morrison (Gonzaga) averaged 28.1 ppg in 2006.
Final Thoughts
It’s amazing to me the number of great/fun/unique players that have come through the college game, regardless of how their careers turned out post-college. In fact, just nine players have won National Player of the Year and an NBA Most Valuable Player award (MVP years listed): Oscar Robertson (1964); Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980); Bill Walton (1978); Larry Bird (1984, 1985, 1986); Michael Jordan (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996); David Robinson (1995); Shaquille O’Neal (2000); Tim Duncan (2002, 2003); and Kevin Durant (2014). Of course, some of the facts would change with different parameters,4 and the full award lists are available below. But in the 66 seasons I researched (1958-2023), 46 different schools had a player win a NPOY award.5
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Additional Resources (Sources)
The Sporting News NPOY
USBWA NPOY
AP NPOY
Naismith NPOY
Rupp NPOY
NABC NPOY
Wooden NPOY
1961 NCAA Tournament
1963 NCAA Tournament
1965 NCAA Tournament
NCAA MOP List
NCAA Career Scoring Leaders
NBA MVP List
Photo Credits: SI Vault, Cincinnati Enquirer, The Sporting News, Bleacher Report, and ACC Network
George Mikan (DePaul) was The Sporting News NPOY in 1945.
Cincinnati defeated Ohio State (70-65 OT) in the 1961 National Championship game. Loyola Chicago defeated Duke (94-75) in the 1963 National Semifinal. Michigan defeated Princeton (93-76) in the 1965 National Semifinal.
Maravich averaged 44.2 ppg in 1969. Robertson averaged 32.6 ppg in 1959, and 33.7 ppg in 1960. Bradley averaged 30.5 ppg in 1965.
For example, DePaul and Villanova would join the list of schools with multiple winners if I included The Sporting News pre-1958. Several schools, including Duke, Kansas, UNC, and Kentucky, would add players to their respective lists if I included the Helms Foundation award, which was given from 1904-1979. The great Bill Russell (San Francisco) would be included on the following lists: NPOY (1955, 1956); MOP (1955); and NBA MVP (1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965).
Schools with a NPOY: Arizona, Bradley, BYU, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Creighton, Dayton, DePaul, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Indiana State, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, La Salle, Louisville, LSU, Marquette, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Michigan State, Navy, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Princeton, Purdue, Saint Joseph’s, St. John’s, Texas, UCLA, UNLV, Utah, Villanova, Virginia, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, and Xavier