Country United States | First awarded 1969 | |
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Awarded for the most outstanding basketball player in the Missouri Valley Conference Currently held by Paris Lee, Illinois State | ||
The Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given to the Missouri Valley Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1968–69 season. It was renamed to honor Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who played at Indiana State from 1977 to 1979 and led the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA Championship game. Bird won every major player of the year award (including the Naismith and Wooden awards) in 1979.
As of 2017, Creighton had the most all-time winners with seven, but it left the conference in July 2013 to join the reconfigured Big East Conference. Among schools remaining in the conference beyond 2013, Bradley and Southern Illinois have the most winners, with six apiece. The only current conference member that has never had a winner is Loyola (Chicago), which played its first MVC season in 2013–14. There have never been any ties for the player of the year, but there have been nine repeat winners in the award's history. Of the repeat winners, only Fred VanVleet of Wichita State won in non-consecutive years (2014 and 2016).