Naismith Men's College Basketball Player of the Year winners

ByESPN staff ESPN logo
Monday, April 8, 2024

Each year, the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year award is given to the nation's best men's college basketball player. The recipient of the Naismith Trophy is determined by a board that includes NCAA basketball head coaches, administrators and media members.



This year, Purdue center Zach Edey won the award for the second year in a row while leading the Boilermakers to a 34-4 record.




Below is a list of every athlete who's won the Naismith College Player of the Year award.



1969: Lew Alcindor, UCLA



1970: Pete Maravich, LSU



1971: Austin Carr, Notre Dame



1972: Bill Walton, UCLA



1973: Bill Walton, UCLA



1974: Bill Walton, UCLA



1975: David Thompson, N.C. State



1976: Scott May, Indiana



1977: Marques Johnson, UCLA



1978: Butch Lee, Marquette



1979: Larry Bird, Indiana State



1980: Mark Aguirre, DePaul



1981: Ralph Sampson, Virginia



1982: Ralph Sampson, Virginia



1983: Ralph Sampson, Virginia



1984: Michael Jordan, North Carolina



1985: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown



1986: Johnny Dawkins, Duke



1987: David Robinson, Navy




1988: Danny Manning, Kansas



1989: Danny Ferry, Duke



1990: Lionel Simmons, La Salle



1991: Larry Johnson, UNLV



1992: Christian Laettner, Duke



1993: Calbert Cheaney, Indiana



1994: Glenn Robinson, Purdue



1995: Joe Smith, Maryland



1996: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts



1997: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest



1998: Antawn Jamison, North Carolina



1999: Elton Brand, Duke



2000: Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati



2001: Shane Battier, Duke



2002: Jason Williams, Duke



2003: T. J. Ford, Texas



2004: Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's



2005: Andrew Bogut, Utah



2006: JJ Redick, Duke




2007: Kevin Durant, Texas



2008: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina



2009: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma



2010: Evan Turner, Ohio State



2011: Jimmer Fredette, Brigham Young



2012: Anthony Davis, Kentucky



2013: Trey Burke, Michigan



2014: Doug McDermott, Creighton



2015: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin



2016: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma



2017: Frank Mason III, Kansas



2018: Jalen Brunson, Villanova



2019: Zion Williamson, Duke



2020: Obi Toppin, Dayton



2021: Luka Garza, Iowa



2022: Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky



2023: Zach Edey, Purdue



2024: Zach Edey, Purdue



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