Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, named after the former Philadelphia Warriors head coach.
Sixteen winners have also won the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in their careers with Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld earning both honors the same season.
[3] Six players won the award unanimously (by capturing all of the first-place votes)—Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Victor Wembanyama.
[4][5] Patrick Ewing of Jamaica,[6] Pau Gasol of Spain, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons of Australia, Andrew Wiggins of Canada, Luka Dončić of Slovenia, and Victor Wembanyama of France are the only winners not born in the United States.
Chamberlain (Harlem Globetrotters), Gasol (FC Barcelona of Liga ACB and EuroLeague), Dončić (Real Madrid of Liga ACB and EuroLeague), LaMelo Ball (BC Prienai of the Lithuanian Basketball League, the Los Angeles Ballers of the JBA, and the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL), and Wembanyama (Nanterre 92, ASVEL, and Metropolitans 92 of LNB Élite) all had professional careers outside the NBA prior to being drafted.