TheNational Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annualNational Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the toprookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the1952–53 NBA season, it confers theEddie Gottlieb Trophy, named after the formerPhiladelphia Warriors head coach. Since the2022–23 NBA season, winners receive theWilt Chamberlain Trophy, named after the former Rookie of the Year winner, who also won the regular season MVP and All-Star Game MVP during his rookie season.
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]
Patrick Ewing of Jamaica,[6]Pau Gasol of Spain,Kyrie Irving andBen Simmons of Australia,Andrew Wiggins of Canada,Luka Dončić of Slovenia, andVictor 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 theBoston 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.
Prior to the1952–53 season, the Rookie of the Year was selected by newspaper writers;[20] however, the NBA does not officially recognize those players as winners. The league published the pre-1953 winners in their 1994–95 edition of theOfficial NBA Guide and the 1994Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia, but those winners have not been listed in subsequent publications.[20][21][22]
^abThough drafted in 1962 by the Cincinnati Royals, Jerry Lucas did not sign with the team until 1963 when he tried to sign with theCleveland Pipers of theAmerican Basketball League instead. He ended up sitting out the year when the deal fell through. His rookie season with the Royals began in the1963–64 season.[8]
^abcdDenotes seasons in which joint winners were named
^abThough drafted in 1978 by the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird opted to stay in college for his senior year and did not play in the NBA until 1979. His rookie season with the Celtics began in the1979–80 season.[9]
^abThough drafted in 1987 by the San Antonio Spurs, David Robinson did not play in the NBA until 1989 due to commitments to theUnited States Navy.[12] His rookie season with the Spurs began in the1989–90 season.[13]
^Because Tim Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands,[14] he was able to play for the U.S. internationally. He represented the United States at the2004 Summer Olympics[15]
^abThough drafted in 2009 by the Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin missed the entire2009–10 season due to a knee injury. His rookie season with the Clippers was the2010–11 season.[16]
^Karl-Anthony Towns was born and raised in the United States to an American father and a Dominican mother.[17] He has represented theDominican Republic internationally since 2012.[18]
^Though drafted in 2016 by the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons missed the entire2016–17 season due to a broken right foot. His rookie season with the Sixers was the2017–18 season.[19]
^Goldstein, Allan (October 30, 1994)."NBA forgot it honored Hoffman".The Baltimore Sun.Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 1, 2011.
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