Ayrton Oneill
The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of US and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters, who cast first-, second-, and third-place votes. The player with the highest number of points wins the award. The first officially recognised winner of the award was Monk Meineke in 1952-53. Since the 2022-23 season, the winner has received the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy, named after the former Rookie of the Year winner. The most recent recipient of the award is Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Award | National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year |
| Year Initiated | 1952-53 NBA season |
| Former Name | Eddie Gottlieb Trophy |
| Current Name | Wilt Chamberlain Trophy |
| Selection Process | Selected by a panel of US and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters |
| Voting Process | First-, second-, and third-place votes worth five, three, and one point, respectively |
| Criteria for Winning | Highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes |
| Most Recent Winner | Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs |
| Other Recent Contenders | Jaylen Wells, Kel'el Ware, Alex Sarr |
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What You'll Learn
Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs was named the 2024-25 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year. Castle is the fourth player to win the award with the Spurs, following in the footsteps of David Robinson (1989-90), Tim Duncan (1997-98), and Victor Wembanyama (2023-24).
Castle, a guard for the Spurs, led all rookies in points per game, averaging 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 0.91 steals in 26.7 minutes across 81 games. He also accumulated the most total points (1,190), steals (74), and free throws made (249) among first-year NBA players.
Castle's outstanding performance earned him the prestigious Wilt Chamberlain Trophy, which was renamed from the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy after the 2022-23 NBA season to honour the former Rookie of the Year winner. The award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from the United States and Canada, who cast first-, second-, and third-place votes worth five, three, and one point, respectively. The player with the highest total points wins, regardless of the number of first-place votes.
Prior to joining the NBA, Castle had already proven his talent, being selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Castrol Rising Stars at the NBA All-Star 2025 in San Francisco. This earlier recognition of his skill and potential set the stage for his impressive rookie season, where he helped his team secure a spot in the NBA All-Star Game.
Stephon Castle's achievement as the 2024-25 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year is a testament to his talent and hard work, solidifying his place among the league's rising stars.
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Wilt Chamberlain Trophy
The Wilt Chamberlain Trophy is awarded to the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Rookie of the Year. Standing at 7 feet 1 inch, Wilt Chamberlain was an American professional basketball player who played centre in the NBA for 14 seasons. Chamberlain was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978 and was elected to the NBA's 35th, 50th, and 75th anniversary teams. He holds 72 NBA records, including several regular-season records in scoring, rebounding, and durability. He is best remembered as the only player to score 100 points in a single game.
Chamberlain was known by several nicknames during his career, such as "Wilt the Stilt", "Goliath", and his personal favourite, "The Big Dipper". Chamberlain was the first winner of the NBA Rookie of the Year award (then called the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy) in the 1959-1960 season. Since the 2022-23 NBA season, the NBA Rookie of the Year award has been renamed the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy in his honour. The winner is selected by a panel of US and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters, who each cast first-, second-, and third-place votes (worth five, three, and one point, respectively). The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
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Monk Meineke, first NBA winner
The first-ever winner of the NBA's Rookie of the Year award was Monk Meineke, who won in the 1952-53 season. Meineke was born in Dayton, Ohio, on October 30, 1930, and played his rookie season with the Fort Wayne Pistons, who drafted him in the second round of the 1952 NBA Draft. Meineke, a 6-foot-7-inch (201 cm) power forward, last played in 1958 and averaged 6.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game across his career.
Prior to the 1952-53 season, the Rookie of the Year was selected by newspaper writers. The NBA does not officially recognize those players as winners, although they were at one point, and the league has admitted to losing the records of these awards. However, some sources still choose to display them.
Meineke played for the Rochester Royals in the 1955–56 season, and after sitting out the 1956–57 season, he rejoined the team, now relocated and renamed the Cincinnati Royals, in 1957–58. Meineke, whose nickname was Don, was married to Mary Jane (Hautman) and they had four children.
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Pre-1953 winners
The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year award was initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season. The first winner officially recognized by the NBA was Monk Meineke, who won in 1952-53.
Before 1953, the Rookie of the Year was selected by newspaper writers, and the NBA does not officially recognize those players as winners. However, the league did once recognize these pre-1953 winners, and they were published in the 1994–95 edition of the Official NBA Guide and the 1994 Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. These writers' awards were given from the 1947–48 season through to 1951–52. The NBA admitted that they lost the records of these awards when they moved offices in the early days of the league, and they are no longer included in official records.
Monk Meineke played for the Fort Wayne Pistons, now known as the Detroit Pistons, and he averaged 10.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in his first season.
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All-time greats
The NBA's Rookie of the Year award is given annually to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. The award was initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, with Monk Meineke being the first officially recognized winner by the NBA. However, newspaper writers selected winners from 1947–48 to 1951–52, which the NBA once recognized but no longer includes in its official records.
Some all-time greats who won the NBA Rookie of the Year award include Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry Lucas, Larry Bird, and David Robinson. Wilt Chamberlain, for whom the current Rookie of the Year award trophy is named, is the only player mentioned in my sources to have won both the Rookie of the Year award and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in the same year. Jerry Lucas, drafted in 1962, did not play his rookie season until 1963–64. Larry Bird, drafted in 1978, waited until 1979 to play in the NBA, starting his rookie season in 1979–80. David Robinson, drafted in 1987, did not play in the NBA until 1989 due to commitments to the US Navy.
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Frequently asked questions
Some of the most recent winners of the NBA Rookie of the Year award are Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs, Kel'el Ware, and Jaylen Wells.
The first winner of the NBA Rookie of the Year award was Monk Meineke in 1952-53.
The winner of the NBA Rookie of the Year award is selected by a panel of US and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters.
