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One of the most prestigious college basketball awards is the John Wooden Award, which honors the best male and female college basketball player every year. It’s essentially the college basketball version of the Heisman Trophy.
The award is announced following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament in April. Here’s a look at the award’s history, how the winner is chosen and how to bet on it.
Who Was John Wooden?
The John R. Wooden Award is named after legendary college basketball coach John Robert Wooden.
As the head coach of UCLA from 1948 to 1975, Wooden won an NCAA record 10 national championships during a 12-year span from 1964 to 1975, including a record seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. His teams had a record of 664-162 (.804 winning percentage) and won 88 straight games at one point – a men’s record.
Regarded as one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time, Wooden helped develop future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton during their time at UCLA. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (in 1960) and a coach (in 1973). He was later inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Wooden retired as one of the winningest and most decorated coaches in any sport. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 99.
Wooden Award History
The goal of the Wooden Award is to recognize the most outstanding male and female college basketball player every year.
The first Wooden Award was given out in 1977 to UCLA’s Marques Johnson. In 2004, the award was expanded to include female players as well. The first female recipient was Duke’s Alana Beard.
Several iconic basketball players won the Wooden Award during their collegiate years, including Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant and Caitlin Clark.
The most recent winners were Zach Edey (Purdue) and Caitlin Clark (Iowa) in 2024, both of whom won the 2023 trophy as well.
It’s possible to win the award multiple times, but nobody has won it more than twice.
Players With Most John Wooden Awards
Men
- Ralph Sampson, Virginia, 1982 & 1983
- Zach Edey, Purdue, 2023 & 2024
Women
- Seimone Augustus, LSU, 2005 & 2006
- Candace Parker, Tennessee, 2007 & 2008
- Maya Moore, UConn, 2009 & 2011
- Brittney Griner, Baylor, 2012 & 2013
- Breanna Stewart, UConn, 2015 & 2016
- Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon, 2019 & 2020
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa, 2023 & 2024
Schools With Most John Wooden Award Winners
Men
- Duke, 6
- North Carolina, 4
- Purdue, 3
- St. John’s, 2
- UCLA, 2
- Virginia, 2
- Texas, 2
- BYU, 2
- Oklahoma, 2
- Kansas, 2
- Kentucky, 2
Women
- UConn, 6
- South Carolina, 2
- Oregon, 2
- Baylor, 2
- Tennessee, 2
- LSU, 2
- Iowa, 2
Wooden Award Voting Process
The award is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, but the selection process is a bit funky. There’s a similar but different process for the men’s and women’s awards.
For the men, a 26-person panel selects around 20 players to be considered for the Wooden Award and All-American honors. Players must be full-time students with minimum cumulative GPAs of 2.00.
The ballot is announced in March after the conclusion of the regular season and conference tournaments but prior to the NCAA Tournament. A group of 1,000 sportswriters and broadcasters from all 50 states vote on the award. Ten players receive All-American honors, and the male player with the most votes is named Player of the Year.
The award ceremony takes place in April after the National Championship Game.
The women’s process is similar but smaller. A board of 12 people nominates roughly 15 candidates for the award, and the voting body consists of 250 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Five players are named to the women’s All-American Team, and the player with the most votes gets the Wooden Award.
Wooden Award Trophy
The Wooden Award has a unique trophy depicting five bronze figures. Each one represents a skill that Wooden believed a “total” basketball player should possess:
- Rebounding
- Passing
- Shooting
- Dribbling
- Defense
Wooden Award Chairman Richard Llewellyn came up with the original idea for the trophy, which was sculpted by famous sports sculptor Don Winton.
The base of the trophy is shaped like a pentagon, made from solid walnut and measures 7 ½ inches tall. The tallest figure is 10 ¼ inches tall.
Overall, the trophy measures 17 ¾ inches tall and weighs more than 25 pounds.
Wooden Award Betting Guide
Like the Heisman Trophy or Super Bowl MVP, betting on the winner of the Wooden Award is an example of a futures bet.
Before and during the season, it’s possible to wager on which player will win the award at U.S. online sportsbooks. The odds will shift throughout the season based on a variety of factors, including player performance, team performance and injuries.
For example, if a player starts the season on fire, he may be the betting favorite after a month or so. But if he gets hurt, goes into a prolonged shooting slump or his team falls out of contention, his odds will slip and he’ll likely be passed by other players on the odds board.
As the season goes on, the players at the top will see their odds shorten, especially if a clear frontrunner emerges. That’s because the number of candidates with a legitimate case to win the award usually shrinks as the season progresses, making it easier to predict who will win.
For example, Zach Edey’s Wooden odds opened at +165 in October of 2023. By early March 2024, they were around -3000 or -4000 at some sportsbooks, making him a virtual lock to win the award. Betting on players earlier in the season is riskier (they could get hurt or fall off), but it also has more value.
As a starting point, it can be a good idea to wager on the best player from one of the best teams in the country, like Edey with Purdue and Clark with Iowa.
That’s because a handful of top programs have dominated both awards. Duke and UNC have combined for 10 winners on the men’s side, while seven schools have accounted for 18 of the 21 awards on the women’s side.
Keep in mind that some states don’t allow bettors to wager on individual player awards, as they are subjective outcomes. Some states also limit the betting markets you can wager on for college sports specifically, so check to see if betting on the Wooden Award is allowed in your state.
Photo by Sandra Dukes/Getty Images
