NBA Rookie of the Year Award

The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1952–53 NBA season, to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. The winner receives the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, which is named in honor of the Philadelphia Warriors head coach who led the team to the 1946–47 NBA Championship. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player(s) with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.^[1]

The most recent winner of the award was Derrick Rose. Twelve of the Rookie of the Year winners have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) during their careers; Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld both accomplished the feat in the same season. Nineteen of the forty two non-active Rookie of the Year winners have been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Three seasons had joint winners—Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie in the 1970–71 season, Grant Hill and Jason Kidd in the 1994–95 season as well as Elton Brand and Steve Francis in the 1999–00 season.^[2] Tim Duncan of the United States Virgin Islands, Patrick Ewing of Jamaica, and Pau Gasol of Spain are the only three winners who were not born in the United States. Duncan is an American citizen, but is considered an international player by the NBA because he was not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D.C.^[3]

Winners

Wilt Chamberlain won the award in the 1959–60 NBA season.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award in the 1969–70 NBA season.

Larry Bird won the award in the 1979–80 NBA season.

Michael Jordan won the award in the 1984–85 NBA season.

Allen Iverson won the award in the 1996–97 NBA season.

LeBron James won the award in the 2003–04 NBA season.

Season	Player	Position	Nationality	Team	DP #	DY
1952–53	Meineke, DonDon Meineke	Forward/Center	United States	Fort Wayne Pistons	35 35	1952
1953–54	Felix, RayRay Felix	Center	United States	Baltimore Bullets	01 1	1953
1954–55	Pettit, BobBob Pettit*	Forward/Center	United States	Milwaukee Hawks	02 2	1954
1955–56	Stokes, MauriceMaurice Stokes*	Forward/Center	United States	Rochester Royals	02 2	1955
1956–57	Heinsohn, TomTom Heinsohn*	Forward/Center	United States	Boston Celtics	99 T	1956
1957–58	Sauldsberry, WoodyWoody Sauldsberry	Forward/Center	United States	Philadelphia Warriors	60 60	1957
1958–59	Baylor, ElginElgin Baylor*	Forward	United States	Minneapolis Lakers	01 1	1958
1959–60	Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain*[a]	Center	United States	Philadelphia Warriors	99 T	1959
1960–61	Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson*	Guard	United States	Cincinnati Royals	01 1	1960
1961–62	Bellamy, WaltWalt Bellamy*	Center	United States	Chicago Packers	01 1	1961
1962–63	Dischinger, TerryTerry Dischinger	Forward/Guard	United States	Chicago Zephyrs	08 8	1962
1963–64	Lucas, JerryJerry Lucas*[b]	Forward/Center	United States	Cincinnati Royals	99 T	1962[b]
1964–65	Reed, WillisWillis Reed*	Center/Forward	United States	New York Knicks	08 8	1964
1965–66	Barry, RickRick Barry*	Forward	United States	San Francisco Warriors	02 2	1965
1966–67	Bing, DaveDave Bing*	Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons	02 2	1966
1967–68	Monroe, EarlEarl Monroe*	Guard	United States	Baltimore Bullets	02 2	1967
1968–69	Unseld, WesWes Unseld*[a]	Center/Forward	United States	Baltimore Bullets	02 2	1968
1969–70	Alcindor, LewLew Alcindor*	Center	United States	Milwaukee Bucks	01 1	1969
1970–71[g]	Cowens, DaveDave Cowens*	Center/Forward	United States	Boston Celtics	04 4	1970
1970–71[g]	Petrie, GeoffGeoff Petrie	Guard	United States	Portland Trail Blazers	08 8	1970
1971–72	Wicks, SidneySidney Wicks	Forward/Center	United States	Portland Trail Blazers	02 2	1971
1972–73	McAdoo, BobBob McAdoo*	Center/Forward	United States	Buffalo Braves	02 2	1972
1973–74	DiGregorio, ErnieErnie DiGregorio	Guard	United States	Buffalo Braves	03 3	1973
1974–75	Wilkes, JamaalJamaal Wilkes	Forward/Guard	United States	Golden State Warriors	11 11	1974
1975–76	Adams, AlvanAlvan Adams	Center/Forward	United States	Phoenix Suns	04 4	1975
1976–77	Dantley, AdrianAdrian Dantley*	Forward/Guard	United States	Buffalo Braves	06 6	1976
1977–78	Davis, WalterWalter Davis	Guard/Forward	United States	Phoenix Suns	05 5	1977
1978–79	Ford, PhilPhil Ford	Guard	United States	Kansas City Kings	02 2	1978
1979–80	Bird, LarryLarry Bird*[c]	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics	06 6	1978[c]
1980–81	Griffith, DarrellDarrell Griffith	Guard	United States	Utah Jazz	02 2	1980
1981–82	Williams, BuckBuck Williams	Forward/Center	United States	New Jersey Nets	03 3	1981
1982–83	Cummings, TerryTerry Cummings	Forward	United States	San Diego Clippers	02 2	1982
1983–84	Sampson, RalphRalph Sampson	Center/Forward	United States	Houston Rockets	01 1	1983
1984–85	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan*	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls	03 3	1984
1985–86	Ewing, PatrickPatrick Ewing*	Center	United States[d]	New York Knicks	01 1	1985
1986–87	Person, ChuckChuck Person	Forward	United States	Indiana Pacers	04 4	1986
1987–88	Jackson, MarkMark Jackson	Guard	United States	New York Knicks	18 18	1987
1988–89	Richmond, MitchMitch Richmond	Guard	United States	Golden State Warriors	05 5	1988
1989–90	Robinson, DavidDavid Robinson*[e]	Center	United States	San Antonio Spurs	01 1	1987[e]
1990–91	Coleman, DerrickDerrick Coleman	Forward	United States	New Jersey Nets	01 1	1990
1991–92	Johnson, LarryLarry Johnson	Forward	United States	Charlotte Hornets	01 1	1991
1992–93	O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal^	Center	United States	Orlando Magic	01 1	1992
1993–94	Webber, ChrisChris Webber	Forward/Center	United States	Golden State Warriors	01 1	1993
1994–95[g]	Hill, GrantGrant Hill^	Forward/Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons	03 3	1994
1994–95[g]	Kidd, JasonJason Kidd^	Guard	United States	Dallas Mavericks	02 2	1994
1995–96	Stoudamire, DamonDamon Stoudamire	Guard	United States	Toronto Raptors	07 7	1995
1996–97	Iverson, AllenAllen Iverson^	Guard	United States	Philadelphia 76ers	01 1	1996
1997–98	Duncan, TimTim Duncan^	Forward/Center	United States Virgin Islands[f]	San Antonio Spurs	01 1	1997
1998–99	Carter, VinceVince Carter^	Guard/Forward	United States	Toronto Raptors	05 5	1998
1999–00[g]	Brand, EltonElton Brand^	Forward	United States	Chicago Bulls	01 1	1999
1999–00[g]	Francis, SteveSteve Francis^	Guard	United States	Houston Rockets	02 2	1999
2000–01	Miller, MikeMike Miller^	Forward	United States	Orlando Magic	05 5	2000
2001–02	Gasol, PauPau Gasol^	Forward	Spain	Memphis Grizzlies	03 3	2001
2002–03	Stoudemire, AmareAmare Stoudemire^	Forward/Center	United States	Phoenix Suns	09 9	2002
2003–04	James, LeBronLeBron James^	Forward	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers	01 1	2003
2004–05	Okafor, EmekaEmeka Okafor^	Forward/Center	United States	Charlotte Bobcats	02 2	2004
2005–06	Paul, ChrisChris Paul^	Guard	United States	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets	04 4	2005
2006–07	Roy, BrandonBrandon Roy^	Guard	United States	Portland Trail Blazers	06 6	2006
2007–08	Durant, KevinKevin Durant^	Forward/Guard	United States	Seattle SuperSonics	02 2	2007
2008–09	Rose, DerrickDerrick Rose^	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls	01 1	2008

Notes

• ^a  Won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in same year.
• ^b  Though drafted in 1962 by the Cincinnati Royals, Jerry Lucas did not sign with the team until 1963 when he tried to sign with the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League instead. He ended up sitting out the year when the deal didn't fall through. His rookie season with the Royals began in the 1963–64 season.^[4]
• ^c  Though drafted in 1978 by the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird, opted to stay in college for his senior year, did not play in the NBA until 1979. His rookie season with the Celtics began in the 1979–80 season.^[5]
• ^d  Patrick Ewing was born in Jamaica, but had become a naturalized United States citizen while at Georgetown.^[6] He represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics.^[7]
• ^e  Though drafted in 1987 by the San Antonio Spurs, David Robinson did not play in the NBA until 1989 due to commitments to the United States Navy.^[8] His rookie season with the Spurs began in the 1989–90 season.^[9]
• ^f  Because Tim Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands,^[10] he was able to play for the U.S. internationally.^[11]
• ^g  Denotes seasons in which joint winners were named

References

General

• "Rookie of the Year Award". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. http://www.nba.com/history/awards_rookieofyear.html. Retrieved April 27, 2007. 
• "Rookie of the Year Award Winners". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/roy.html. Retrieved July 7, 2008. 

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