The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award 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.
Grant Henry Hill is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). He is also part of a ownership group that purchased the Baltimore Orioles in 2024. Hill also works as a basketball analyst for CBS and Turner Sports.
Wayman Lawrence Tisdale was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma, he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
The Lloyd Noble Center is a 10,967-seat multi-purpose arena located in Norman, Oklahoma, some 19 mi (31 km) south of downtown Oklahoma City. It opened in 1975 and is home to the University of Oklahoma men's and women's basketball teams of the Southeastern Conference.
Joseph Leynard Smith is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward, he played for 12 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his 16-year career.
Garfield Heard is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiately at the University of Oklahoma and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the third round of the 1970 NBA draft. He had a 15-year NBA career for four teams. Heard is best known for a buzzer beater he made to send Game 5 of the 1976 Phoenix–Boston championship series into a third overtime. This feat is commonly known as "The Shot", or "The Shot Heard 'Round the World", in reference to Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem "Concord Hymn", which was written about the Battle of Lexington.
Blake Austin Griffin is an American former professional basketball player. Griffin primarily played with the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he was named the consensus national college player of the year as a sophomore. Griffin was selected first overall by the Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft, and was a six-time NBA All-Star and a five-time All-NBA selection. In January 2018, Griffin was traded to the Detroit Pistons and played for them until 2021. In March 2021, Griffin signed with the Brooklyn Nets. In September 2022, Griffin signed with the Boston Celtics, who he stayed with until his retirement in 2023.
The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represents the University of Oklahoma in intercollegiate men's basketball. The program competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Sooners play their home games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma has won 14 conference championships, 7 conference tournaments. The team has participated in five Final Fours, and holds the record for most NCAA tournament wins without a championship. As of the 2022 season, they are tied for 12th all-time in NCAA tournament appearances. In addition to their tournament successes the program has produced several 33 All-Americans including Wayman Tisdale, Stacey King, Harvey Grant, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor, Hollis Price, and Blake Griffin, 9 first round draft picks, including one No. 1 pick and four National Players of the Year: Vic Holt (1928), Gerald Tucker (1947), Blake Griffin (2009) and Buddy Hield (2016).
Taylor Griffin is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma and is the older brother of Blake Griffin.
The 1984–85 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1984–85 NCAA Division I season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former Big Eight Conference at that time. The team posted a 31–6 overall record and a 13–1 conference record to finish first in the Conference for head coach Billy Tubbs. This was the first Big Eight Conference tournament championship and second Conference regular season championship for Tubbs. This was Tubbs' first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament #1 seed.
The 1983–84 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1983–84 NCAA Division I season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) former Big Eight Conference at that time. The team posted a 29–5 overall record and a 13–1 conference record to finish first in the Conference for head coach Billy Tubbs. This was the first Big Eight Conference Regular Season Championship for Tubbs.
Tim McCalister is an American former basketball player best known for his collegiate career at the University of Oklahoma from 1983 to 1987. He stood at 6'3" and played guard. Throughout his four-year career, he scored 2,275 career points. He also had 628 assists, along with 319 steals. McCalister was selected 47th overall and in the third round by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1987 NBA draft, but never played in the NBA. He later played in the IBA and overseas in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) averaging 25.7 points in his brief three-game stint with Purefoods Hotdogs in 1988.
The 1975–76 Phoenix Suns season was the eighth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The season included an improbable run to the NBA Finals by a team that had never won a playoff series and made the playoffs only one other season in the franchise's existence.
The 1977–78 Phoenix Suns season was the tenth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The team finished second in a Pacific division that did not have a team finish below .500, as the Suns returned to the playoffs for the third time in franchise history. The Suns were led by head coach John MacLeod and played all home games in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the 27th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Suns signed free agents, All-Star forward Danny Manning, Wayman Tisdale, and Danny Schayes. The team was led by Paul Westphal, in his third year as head coach of the Suns. The Suns held the league's best record at 38–10 before the All-Star break, and finished the regular season with 59 wins and 23 losses, the first time in the franchise's history they had ended the season with 55 or more wins for three consecutive seasons. All home games were played at America West Arena.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 28th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Suns acquired Hot Rod Williams from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and signed free agent Tony Smith. The Suns struggled with a 13–13 start to the season, then lost eight of their next nine games. Head coach Paul Westphal, who had led the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals, went 14–19 before being replaced by Cotton Fitzsimmons, who would come on to coach in his third stint with the Suns, while Smith was traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for rookie guard Terrence Rencher at midseason. The team played above .500 for the remainder of the season, as they held a 22–24 record at the All-Star break, and finished fourth in the Pacific Division, and seventh in the Western Conference with a 41–41 record. All home games were played at America West Arena. They were also one of the nine teams to defeat the 72–10 Chicago Bulls.
Chavano Rainer "Buddy" Hield is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners and was named the Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, he received four major national player of the year awards: the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Award, Sporting News Player of the Year, and the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Hield was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans and was traded to the Sacramento Kings for DeMarcus Cousins in 2017. He was dealt to the Indiana Pacers in a package for Domantas Sabonis in 2022. In February 2024, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. In July 2024, Hield was involved in a 6-team trade that involved him getting traded to the Golden State Warriors.
Deandre Edoneille Ayton Sr. is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star prospect in the Class of 2017 and a McDonald's All-American, he played one season of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, where he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Ayton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2019. In 2021, he helped lead the Suns to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993.
Cade Parker Cunningham is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Bowie High School in his hometown of Arlington, Texas, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida, where he was rated a consensus five-star recruit and among the top players in the 2020 class by major recruiting services. As a senior, he led one of the best high school teams in history and received national player of the year recognition.
