The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball. The award has been given since the 1974–75 season to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball players. The association added awards for Division II and Division III players in 1983, and for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and junior college players in 2008. The awards have previously been sponsored by State Farm Insurance.
In Division I, Duke has the most all-time winners with six. Their rival, North Carolina, as well as Kansas are tied for second with four winners. There have been three ties for NABC Player of the Year (2002, 2004, 2006), and only two players have won the award multiple times (Jason Williams and Ralph Sampson).
In Division II, Virginia Union has four winners, the most all-time, and is followed by Kentucky Wesleyan which has three. Only one tie has occurred (2006), while three players have won the award more than once (Stan Gouard, Earl Jones, John Smith).
In Division III, Potsdam State has the most all-time winners with three, while six other schools are tied for second with two winners apiece. There have been two ties (2007, 2010) and four repeat winners (Leroy Witherspoon, Andrew Olson, Aaron Walton-Moss and Joey Flannery).
At the NAIA level, there is a distinction between NAIA Division I and NAIA Division II winners. Since the awards began in 2008, no school or individual player has received the award multiple times.
In junior college, every winner has been a sophomore and had gone on to play at an NCAA Division I school after their community college careers ended until 2020. Jay Scrubb, that year's winner, hired an agent and declared for the 2020 NBA draft, thereby forgoing his remaining collegiate eligibility. He had committed to Louisville prior to renouncing that decision to enter the NBA draft pool.
Since community college players only attend for two years, these players are only either freshmen or sophomores. Afterwards, they move on to a four-year university to finish their last two seasons of NCAA eligibility. The University column reflects which team these players would play for following their junior college careers.
^On March 25, 2020, Scrubb declared for the 2020 NBA draft while maintaining his eligibility and did not immediately sign with an agent.[1] On April 9, he announced that he would sign with an agent and forgo his remaining college basketball eligibility.[2] Scrubb had previously committed to play for Louisville prior to changing his decision.