What’s the Wooden Award in College Basketball?

min read
One of college basketball's top awards is named for UCLA coach John Wooden.
(AP Photo)
Chase Kiddy @chaseakiddy Oct 12, 2023, 3:58 PM

The John R. Wooden Award – often known simply as the Wooden Award – is one of the premiere college basketball trophies annually given to the best player in college basketball.

The Wooden Award is given by the Los Angeles Athletic Club in honor of the late John Wooden. 

Wooden was the national collegiate player of the year in 1932 as a star at Purdue. 

Later, as the dynastic head coach at UCLA, Wooden was responsible for one of the greatest accomplishments ever achieved in any sport: 10 Division I national championships between 1964 and 1975.

In modern times, the Los Angeles Athletic Club has expanded the Wooden Award into a broader series of awards. 

In 1999, it began an annual Legends of Coaching award; in 2004, it began awarding a Wooden Award to the top player in both men’s and women’s college basketball.

The Wooden Award is one of several trophies given to the top player every year. There’s also the Naismith College Player of the Year, the Associated Press Player of the Year, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, and a few others.

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About the Author

Chase Kiddy

Read More @chaseakiddy

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.