Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award
| Awarded for | The nation's top male center in NCAA Division I basketball |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| History | |
| First award | 2015 |
| Most recent | Zach Edey, Purdue |
| Website | http://www.hoophallawards.com |
The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate center. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded since 2004, the award was one of four new awards (along with the Jerry West Award, Julius Erving Award and Karl Malone Award) created as part of the inaugural College Basketball Awards show in 2015.[1] It is named after three-time NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Champion, three-time NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player, and three-time National Player of the Year Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[2] The inaugural winner was Frank Kaminsky.[3]
Luka Garza of Iowa is the only player to repeat as recipient of the award.
Winners
| * | Awarded a National Player of the Year award: the Naismith College Player of the Year or the John R. Wooden Award |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award |
| Season | Player | School | Class | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Frank Kaminsky* | Wisconsin | Senior | |
| 2015–16 | Jakob Pöltl | Utah | Sophomore | |
| 2016–17 | Przemek Karnowski | Gonzaga | Senior | |
| 2017–18 | Ángel Delgado | Seton Hall | Senior | [4] |
| 2018–19 | Ethan Happ | Wisconsin | Senior | [5] |
| 2019–20 | Luka Garza | Iowa | Junior | |
| 2020–21 | Luka Garza* (2) | Iowa | Senior | |
| 2021–22 | Oscar Tshiebwe* | Kentucky | Junior | |
| 2022–23 | Zach Edey* | Purdue | Junior |
Winners by school
| School | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 2 | 2020, 2021 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 2015, 2019 |
| Gonzaga | 1 | 2017 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 2022 |
| Purdue | 1 | 2023 |
| Seton Hall | 1 | 2018 |
| Utah | 1 | 2016 |
References
- ^ "New College Basketball Awards Show to Honor the Season's Top Players April 10 on ESPN2". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. February 12, 2015. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Fifteen Candidates Announced for First-Ever Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. February 16, 2015. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Wisconsin's Kaminsky wins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar award as best center". FOX Sports. Associated Press. April 10, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Pascoe, Bruce (April 7, 2018). "Arizona's Ayton Wins Karl Malone Award". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. p. B004 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Zion completes '19 awards sweep with Wooden". ESPN.com. April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.