Country United States First awarded 1997 | Presented by Phillips 66 Currently held by Buddy Hield, Oklahoma | |
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Awarded for the most outstanding basketball player in the Big 12 Conference | ||
The Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Big 12 Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1996–97 season, the first year of conference competition but three years after the conference's official formation. It is selected by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Only two players have won the award multiple times—Raef LaFrentz of Kansas, who won the first two awards in 1997 and 1998, and Buddy Hield of Oklahoma, who won the award in 2015 and 2016. Three freshmen have won the award as well—Kevin Durant of Texas, Michael Beasley of Kansas State and Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State. Four current Big 12 members have yet to have a winner: charter members Baylor and Texas Tech, and 2012 arrivals TCU and West Virginia. Three former Big 12 members also never had a winner of the award during their tenure in the Big 12, Colorado, Missouri, and Texas A&M.