The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. The award is also often referred to as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, referencing the conclusion of the Final Four semifinals and championship games. Accredited media members at the championship game vote on the award.
The players that win the award are predominantly members of the championship team. However, twelve men and one woman have won it as players on teams that did not win the championship. On the men's side, runner-up Houston's Akeem Olajuwon was the last to do so in 1983, while runner-up Virginia's Dawn Staley was the only woman to do so, in 1991. Villanova later vacated their entire season. His award was restored in 2019 when a lawsuit brought against the NCAA was settled, clearing his name of any wrongdoing in the team scandal.
|-
! 1941
|
| Wisconsin
| F
|
|
|-
! 1942
|
| Stanford
| F
|
|
|-
! 1943
|
| Wyoming
| PG
|
|
|-
! 1944
|
| Utah
| SF / SG
|
|
|-
! 1945
|
| Oklahoma State
| C
|
|
|-
! 1946
| style="background:#ffe6bd;" | * (2)
| Oklahoma State
| C
|
|
|-
! 1948
|
| Kentucky
| C
|
|
|-
! 1949
| (2)
| Kentucky
| C
|
|
|-
! 1951
|