[1] The winner was a basketball player who had European citizenship, and whose performances with his sports club and/or national team throughout the year had reached the highest level of excellence.

Players did not have to play in any FIBA competitions in order to be eligible.

The winner received the prize, after winning a vote of both fans and a panel of basketball experts, media members, and coaches, from twenty five countries.

That being specified, the importance of the former awards relies on their tradition, as their inception occurred in 1976, 1979, and 2002 respectively.

All in all, the laureates are often the same on all four lists, with all of them representing many of the biggest European basketball stars since the mid-1970s.