National Players Of The Year Is A Duke Tradition

It’s understandable that we’re a little biased because we live in ACC territory — in other words, America from sea to shining sea — but that narrative has changed little as the 2025-26 season unfolds.

Cameron Boozer is considered the favorite (if not the favorite) to win the National Team Player of the Year title every week. His value was clearly reinforced last weekend against Michigan in Washington, D.C., against the previously No. 1 Wolverines, who had a much-hyped frontcourt with a big body.

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There are numerous awards designating national team players of the year from the Associated Press (AP) to the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and The Sporting News (TSN). Generally speaking, the two most prestigious awards are the Wooden Award, awarded by the Los Angeles Athletic Club since 1977, and the Naismith Award, an honor awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club since 1969.

Both also recognize a top female chess player, Naismith since 1983 (Duke’s Lindsey Harding won in 2007) and Wooden since 2004 (Duke’s Alana Beard won in 2004).

Boozer is a betting favorite this year because of his scoring, double-doubles, complementary skills, court awareness and outstanding consistency. Of course, it helps that the 6-foot-9 freshman plays for Duke, one of the premier programs in the country and a regular on television.

All told, if Boozer wins this year’s Naismith POY Award, he will become the fifth freshman to win the award, following last year’s Cooper Flagg, Duke’s Zion Williamson in 2019, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in 2012 and Texas’ Kevin Durant in 2007. This is number 58^th Award year.

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Remarkably, Flagg and Big Boozer become the second group of different players from the same school to win the award in consecutive seasons. The first duo, also from Duke, was Shane Battier in 2001 and Jason Williams in 2002. Otherwise, the multiple winners from the same school are oddball centers — UCLA’s Bill Walton, UVa’s Ralph Sampson and Purdue’s Zach Eddy.

If Boozer wins the award in 2026, he will become the ninth Blue Devil to win the award, following Danny Ferry in 1989, Christian Laettner in 1992, Elton Brand in 1999, Shane Battier in 2001, Williams in 2002, J.J. Redick in 2006, Williamson in 2019 and Flagg in 2025. No other school has produced more than four players who are Naismith Award winners.

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