Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year

Annual men's basketball award

The Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year award was established in 1961 to recognize the best men's college basketball player of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press (AP).

The only three-time winner is Ralph Sampson of the Virginia Cavaliers program. Lew Alcindor, Zach Edey, Jerry Lucas, David Thompson, and Bill Walton each won the award twice.

Key

Jerry Lucas won the first two awards in 1960 and 1961

David Thompson won the award in 1974 and 1975

Larry Bird won the 1979 award while leading Indiana State to an undefeated regular season

Sean Elliott won in 1989

2007 winner Kevin Durant was the first freshman named

Obi Toppin became Dayton’s first winner in 2020

Winners by school

Footnotes

• a Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971 after converting to Islam.^[1][2]

See also

• List of U.S. men's college basketball national player of the year awards
• Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year
• Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year

References

1. Associated Press (4 June 1971). "Call Me 'Kareem' says Lew Alcindor" (Google News Archive). The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
2. "'Big O' Completes Bucks' Championship Run". NBA Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. National Basketball Association. 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2010.

External links

• AP Player of the Year