The Oscar Robertson Trophy™ is known as the premier U.S. men's college basketball player of the year award recognizing outstanding performance, skill, and sportsmanship on and off the court. As selected by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the award was first established in 1959 as the Player of the Year Award and renamed in 1998 in honor of Oscar Robertson. Known as the "Player of the Century" by the National Basketball Coaches Association, Robertson was the first three-time national college player of the year.
The trophy is an 18-inch bronze sculpture created in 2005 by the world-renowned St. Louis sculptor, Harry Weber (add link) and is based on the famous photo of Robertson rebounding. Past winners of the coveted award include Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Kevin Durant. The award is presented at the Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
Awarded to the men’s national college player of the year
Oscar Robertson presents the 2018 Oscar Robertson Trophy to Jalen Brunson, Villanova junior guard who becomes the second U.S. Basketball Writers Association player of the year from the Big East Conference in the past five years. Doug McDermott of Creighton won the award in 2014. (Photo courtesy of USBWA.)
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson, a 6-3 junior from Lincolnshire, Illinois, has been selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as the 2018 winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy, awarded to the men’s national college player of the year. Oscar Robertson personally presented the trophy to Brunson on Friday, March 30, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, site of this year’s NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Brunson averaged 19.1 points and 4.8 assists per game this season while leading Villanova to the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball championship, the second championship in three seasons. Contributing to the 27-4 regular season record, Brunson shot 52.7 percent and had 176 assists.
“In terms of Jalen, I just think he’s the most complete player in college basketball,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright. “I think he has the biggest impact on making his team win.”
The Oscar Robertson Trophy, presented annually by the USBWA since 1959, is the premier men's college player of the year award. It is also the only such award actually named after a player or a living namesake - in this case, the National Association of Basketball Coaches' "Player of the Century" and the first three-time national college player of the year.
The trophy is an 18" bronze sculpture created in 2005 by world-renowned St. Louis sculptor Harry Weber on commission from the USBWA and is based on the famous photo of Oscar Robertson rebounding against Kansas State. Weber's bronze sculptures are in the permanent collections of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY and the National Dog Museum, as well as private collections across the U.S. and overseas, and have been featured at the Museum of Fine Arts in Newport, Rhode Island.
UCLA has the most Oscar Robertson Trophy winners with nine, followed by Duke University with seven. Kenyon Martin was the first University of Cincinnati player to win the award since The Big O himself last won in 1960. For the complete list of winners since 1959, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Two permanent display cases, one of Oscar Robertson Trophy winners and one of memorabilia from The Big O's career dating back to Indianapolis Crispus Attucks High School, have been set up in the entrance hall at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers and site of the 2006 Oscar Robertson Trophy presentation. Larry Bird, president of basketball operations for the Pacers, assisted The Big O in unveiling the display cases.