NBA Rookie of the Year

The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year 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, 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, 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.

The most recent Rookie of the Year winner is Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks. 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. Six players won the award unanimously (by capturing all of the first-place votes)—Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Victor Wembanyama.

Patrick Ewing of Jamaica, 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

+Key ^Denotes player who is still active in the NBA *Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as player†Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration PlayerDenotes unanimous winners DP # Draft pick number DY Draft year TTerritorial pick +Rookie of the Year Season Player Position Nationality TeamSchool/Prior Experience DP # DY Forward/center Fort Wayne Pistons Dayton 1952 Center Baltimore Bullets Long Island 1953 * Forward/center Milwaukee Hawks LSU 1954 * Forward/center Rochester Royals Saint Francis (PA) 1955 * Forward Boston Celtics Holy Cross 1956 Forward/center Philadelphia Warriors Texas Southern 1957 * Forward Minneapolis Lakers Seattle 1958 * Center Philadelphia Warriors (2) Kansas, Harlem Globetrotters 1959 * Guard Cincinnati Royals (2) Cincinnati /T 1960 * Center Chicago Packers (2) Indiana 1961 Forward/guard Chicago Zephyrs (3) Purdue 1962 * Forward/center Cincinnati Royals (3) Ohio State 1962 * Center/forward New York Knicks Grambling 1964 * Forward San Francisco Warriors (3) Miami (FL) 1965 * Guard Detroit Pistons (2) Syracuse 1966 * Guard Baltimore Bullets (4) Winston-Salem State 1967 * Center/forward Baltimore Bullets (5) Louisville 1968 * Center Milwaukee Bucks UCLA 1969* Center/forward Boston Celtics (2) Florida State 1970 Guard Portland Trail Blazers Princeton 1970 Forward/center Portland Trail Blazers (2) UCLA 1971 * Center/forward Buffalo Braves North Carolina (Jr.) 1972 Guard Buffalo Braves (2) Providence (Sr.) 1973 * Forward/guard Golden State Warriors (4) UCLA (Sr.) 1974 Center/forward Phoenix Suns Oklahoma (Jr.) 1975 * Forward/guard Buffalo Braves (3) Notre Dame (Jr.) 1976 * Guard/forward Phoenix Suns (2) North Carolina (Sr.) 1977 Guard Kansas City Kings (4) North Carolina (Sr.) 1978 * Forward Boston Celtics (3) Indiana State (Jr.) 1978 Guard Utah Jazz Louisville (Sr.) 1980 Forward/center New Jersey Nets Maryland (Jr.) 1981 Forward San Diego Clippers (4) DePaul (Jr.) 1982 * Center/forward Houston Rockets Virginia (Sr.) 1983 * Guard Chicago Bulls North Carolina (Jr.) 1984 * Center New York Knicks (2) Georgetown (Sr.) 1985 Forward Indiana Pacers Auburn (Sr.) 1986 Guard New York Knicks (3) St. John's (Sr.) 1987 * Guard Golden State Warriors (5) Kansas State (Sr.) 1988 * Center San Antonio Spurs Navy (Sr.) 1987 Forward New Jersey Nets (2) Syracuse (Sr.) 1990 Forward Charlotte Hornets UNLV (Sr.) 1991 * Center Orlando Magic LSU (Jr.) 1992 * Forward/center Golden State Warriors (6) Michigan (So.) 1993* Forward/guard Detroit Pistons (3) Duke (Sr.) 1994* Guard Dallas Mavericks California (So.) 1994 Guard Toronto Raptors Arizona (Sr.) 1995 * Guard Philadelphia 76ers Georgetown (So.) 1996 * Forward/center San Antonio Spurs (2) Wake Forest (Sr.) 1997 * Guard/forward Toronto Raptors (2) North Carolina (Jr.) 1998 Forward Chicago Bulls (2) Duke (So.) 1999 Guard Houston Rockets (2) Maryland (Jr.) 1999 Forward/guard Orlando Magic (2) Florida (So.) 2000 * Forward/center Memphis Grizzlies FC Barcelona (Spain) 2001 * Forward/center Phoenix Suns (3) Cypress Creek HS (Orlando, Florida) 2002 ^ Forward Cleveland Cavaliers St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (Akron, Ohio) 2003 Center/forward Charlotte Bobcats (2) UConn (Jr.) 2004 † Guard New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets Wake Forest (So.) 2005 Guard Portland Trail Blazers (3) Washington (Sr.) 2006 ^ Forward Seattle SuperSonics Texas (Fr.) 2007 † Guard Chicago Bulls (3) Memphis (Fr.) 2008 Guard/forward Sacramento Kings (5) Memphis (Fr.) 2009 Forward Los Angeles Clippers (5) Oklahoma (So.) 2009 ^ Guard Cleveland Cavaliers (2) Duke (Fr.) 2011 ^ Guard Portland Trail Blazers (4) Weber St. (Jr.) 2012 Guard Philadelphia 76ers (2) Syracuse (So.) 2013 ^ Forward/guard Minnesota Timberwolves Kansas (Fr.) 2014 ^ Center Minnesota Timberwolves (2) Kentucky (Fr.) 2015 † Guard Milwaukee Bucks (2) Virginia (Sr.) 2016 † Guard Philadelphia 76ers (3) LSU (Fr.) 2016^ Guard/forward Dallas Mavericks (2) Real Madrid (Spain) 2018^ Guard Memphis Grizzlies (2) Murray State (So.) 2019 ^ Guard Charlotte Hornets (3) Illawarra Hawks (Australia) 2020 ^ Forward Toronto Raptors (3) Florida State (Fr.) 4 2021 ^ Forward Orlando Magic (3) Duke (Fr.) 2022 ^ Center San Antonio Spurs (3) Metropolitans 92 2023 ^ Guard San Antonio Spurs (4) UConn (Fr.) 2024 ^ Forward Dallas Mavericks (3) Duke (Fr.) 2025

Unofficial winners Prior to the season, the Rookie of the Year was selected by newspaper writers; 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.

+Pre-1953 NBA Rookies of the Year Season Player Position Nationality Team DP # DY Guard/forward Baltimore Bullets 70 1947 Guard/forward Providence Steamrollers 1949 Center Indianapolis Olympians 1949 * Forward/guard Philadelphia Warriors 1950 Guard Indianapolis Olympians 1951 Forward/center Milwaukee Hawks 1951

Teams Awards Teams PlayersYears6Golden State Warriors / San Francisco Warriors / Philadelphia WarriorsWoody Sauldsberry, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Jamaal Wilkes, Mitch Richmond, Chris Webber, (as Philadelphia) (as San Francisco), , 5Los Angeles Clippers / San Diego Clippers / Buffalo BravesBob McAdoo, Ernie DiGregorio, Adrian Dantley, Terry Cummings, Blake Griffin, , (as Buffalo) (as San Diego)Sacramento Kings / Kansas City Kings / Cincinnati Royals / Rochester RoyalsMaurice Stokes, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Phil Ford, Tyreke Evans (as Rochester), (as Cincinnati) (as Kansas City) 4Portland Trail BlazersGeoff Petrie, Sidney Wicks, Brandon Roy, Damian Lillard, , , Washington Wizards / Baltimore Bullets / Chicago Zephyrs / Chicago PackersWalt Bellamy, Terry Dischinger, Earl Monroe, Wes Unseld (as Chicago Packers) (as Chicago Zephyrs), (as Baltimore)San Antonio SpursDavid Robinson, Tim Duncan, Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, , , 3Boston CelticsTom Heinsohn, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird, , Charlotte Hornets / Charlotte BobcatsLarry Johnson, Emeka Okafor, LaMelo Ball, (as Charlotte Bobcats), Chicago BullsMichael Jordan, Elton Brand, Derrick Rose, , Dallas MavericksJason Kidd, Luka Dončić, Cooper Flagg, , Detroit Pistons / Fort Wayne PistonsDon Meineke, Dave Bing, Grant Hill (as Fort Wayne), , New York KnicksWillis Reed, Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, , Orlando MagicShaquille O'Neal, Mike Miller, Paolo Banchero, , Philadelphia 76ersAllen Iverson, Michael Carter-Williams, Ben Simmons, , Phoenix SunsAlvan Adams, Walter Davis, Amare Stoudemire, , Toronto RaptorsDamon Stoudamire, Vince Carter, Scottie Barnes, , 2Brooklyn Nets / New Jersey NetsBuck Williams, Derrick Coleman (as New Jersey), (as New Jersey)Cleveland CavaliersLeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Houston RocketsRalph Sampson, Steve Francis, Memphis GrizzliesPau Gasol, Ja Morant, Milwaukee BucksLew Alcindor, Malcolm Brogdon, Minnesota TimberwolvesAndrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, 1Atlanta Hawks / Milwaukee HawksBob Pettit (as Milwaukee)Baltimore BulletsRay FelixIndiana PacersChuck PersonLos Angeles Lakers / Minneapolis LakersElgin Baylor (as Minneapolis)New Orleans Pelicans / Oklahoma City HornetsChris Paul (as New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets)Oklahoma City Thunder / Seattle SuperSonicsKevin Durant (as Seattle)Utah JazzDarrell Griffith0Denver NuggetsNoneMiami Heat

NBA Rookie of the Year

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