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
thumb|upright|[[Wilt Chamberlain won the award in the 1959–60 NBA season.]]
thumb|upright|[[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly known as Lew Alcindor) won the award unanimously in the 1969–70 NBA season.|alt=head shot of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]]
thumb|upright|[[Larry Bird won the award in the 1979–80 NBA season.|alt=head shot of Larry Bird]]
alt=Michael Jordan holding a basketball|thumb|238x238px|[[Michael Jordan won the award in the 1984–85 NBA season.]]
thumb|upright|[[Allen Iverson won the award in the 1996–97 NBA season.|alt=Allen Iverson at a post-game interview]]
thumb|upright|[[Pau Gasol won the award in the 2001–02 NBA season.|alt=Pau Gasol boxing-out for a rebound.]]
thumb|upright|[[LeBron James won the award in the 2003–04 NBA season.|alt=LeBron James preparing to shoot a free throw]]
thumb|upright|[[Kevin Durant won the award in the 2007–08 NBA season.|alt=Kevin Durant at ARCO Arena]]
thumb|upright|[[Derrick Rose won the award in the 2008–09 NBA season.|alt=Derrick Rose 2]]
alt=Luka Dončić|thumb|228x228px|[[Luka Dončić won the award in the 2018–19 NBA season.]]
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Key
|-
!scope="row" border:1px style="background-color:#CFECEC; width:6em"| ^
|Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
|-
!scope="row" border:1px style="background-color:#FFFF99; width:6em"| *
|Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as player
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#CCFF99; width:1em"|†
|Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration<!--
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#F0E130; width:1em"|§
|1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2027-->
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"| Player<br><small></small>
|Denotes unanimous winners
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"| DP #
| Draft pick number
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"| DY
| Draft year
|-
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"| T
|Territorial pick
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" summary="Season (sortable), Player (sortable), Position (sortable), Nationality (sortable), Team (sortable), DP # (sortable) and DY (sortable)"
|+Rookie of the Year
|-
!scope="col"| Season
!scope="col"| Player
!scope="col"| Position
!scope="col"| Nationality
!scope="col"| Team
!School/Prior Experience
!scope="col"| DP #
!scope="col"| DY
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Forward/center
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons
| Dayton
|
| 1952
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Center
|
| Baltimore Bullets
| Long Island
|
| 1953
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Forward/center
|
| Milwaukee Hawks
| LSU
|
| 1954
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Forward/center
|
| Rochester Royals
| Saint Francis (PA)
|
| 1955
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Forward
|
| Boston Celtics
| Holy Cross
|
| 1956
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Forward/center
|
| Philadelphia Warriors
| Texas Southern
|
| 1957
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Forward
|
| Minneapolis Lakers
| Seattle
|
| 1958
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Center
|
| Philadelphia Warriors (2)
| Kansas, Harlem Globetrotters
|
| 1959
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Guard
|
| Cincinnati Royals (2)
| Cincinnati
| /T
| 1960
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Center
|
| Chicago Packers (2)
| Indiana
|
| 1961
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Forward/guard
|
| Chicago Zephyrs (3)
| Purdue
|
| 1962
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Forward/center
|
| Cincinnati Royals (3)
| Ohio State
|
| 1962|group=lower-alpha|name=note_d
| Forward
|
| Boston Celtics (3)
| Indiana State <small>(Jr.)</small>
|
| 1978 He represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics.|group=lower-alpha
| New York Knicks (2)
| Georgetown <small>(Sr.)</small>
|
| 1985
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Forward
|
| Indiana Pacers
| Auburn (Sr.)
|
| 1986
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Guard
|
| New York Knicks (3)
| St. John's (Sr.)
|
| 1987
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Guard
|
| Golden State Warriors (5)
| Kansas State <small>(Sr.)</small>
|
| 1988
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"| *
| Center
|
| San Antonio Spurs
| Navy <small>(Sr.)</small>
|
| 1987 he was able to play for the U.S. internationally. He represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics|group=lower-alpha
| San Antonio Spurs (2)
| Wake Forest (Sr.)
|
| 1997
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Guard/forward
|
| Toronto Raptors (2)
| North Carolina (Jr.)
|
| 1998
|-
| rowspan=2||group=lower-alpha|name=note_griffin
| Forward
|
| Los Angeles Clippers (5)
| Oklahoma <small>(So.)</small>
|
| 2009 He has represented the Dominican Republic internationally since 2012.|group=lower-alpha
| Minnesota Timberwolves (2)
| Kentucky <small>(Fr.)</small>
|
| 2015
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFF99;"|<sup>†</sup>
| Guard
|
| Milwaukee Bucks (2)
| Virginia <small>(Sr.)</small>
|
| 2016
|-
|
! scope="row" style="background-color:#CCFF99;"|<sup>†</sup>
| Guard
|
| Philadelphia 76ers (3)
| LSU <small>(Fr.)</small>
|
| 2016
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Guard/forward
|
| Dallas Mavericks (2)
| Real Madrid <small>(Spain)</small>
|
| 2018
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Guard
|
| Memphis Grizzlies (2)
| Murray State <small>(So.)</small>
|
| 2019
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Guard
|
| Charlotte Hornets (3)
| Illawarra Hawks <small>(Australia)</small>
|
| 2020
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Forward
|
| Toronto Raptors (3)
| Florida State <small>(Fr.)</small>
| 4
| 2021
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Forward
|
| Orlando Magic (3)
| Duke <small>(Fr.)</small>
|
| 2022
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Center
|
| San Antonio Spurs (3)
| Metropolitans 92
|
| 2023
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Guard
|
| San Antonio Spurs (4)
| UConn <small>(Fr.)</small>
|
| 2024
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#CFECEC;"|^
| Forward
|
| Dallas Mavericks (3)
| Duke <small>(Fr.)</small>
|
| 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.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" summary="Season (sortable), Player (sortable), Position (sortable), Nationality (sortable), Team (sortable), DP # (sortable) and DY (sortable)"
|+Pre-1953 NBA Rookies of the Year
|-
!scope="col"| Season
!scope="col"| Player
!scope="col"| Position
!scope="col"| Nationality
!scope="col"| Team
!scope="col"| DP #
!scope="col"| DY
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Guard/forward
|
| Baltimore Bullets
| 70
| 1947
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Guard/forward
|
| Providence Steamrollers
|
| 1949
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:transparent;"|
| Center
|
| Indianapolis Olympians
|
| 1949
|-
|
!scope="row" style="background-color:#FFFF99"|*
| Forward/guard
|
| Philadelphia Warriors
|
| 1950
|-
| rowspan=2|