3 players who have won back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year awards ft. Zach Edey

Sunday's announcement made official what was long expected-- Zach Edey won his second Naismith Player of the Year Award.

The award, named for basketball's inventor, honors the nation's top men's and women's basketball players of each season. The Naismith Award was first given in 1969, with the women's honor initiated in 1983.

While 10 women's players have won the Naismith Award multiple times, Edey joined a club of only three men to pick up multiple Naismith wins. Here's the rundown on the multiple Naismith Award winners from men's basketball.

Players who have won back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year Awards

Bill Walton (1972, 1973, 1974)

Bill Walton is one of only three players to win the Naismith Player of the Year Award multiple times.

While a history of injuries kept him from ever fulfilling his NBA potential, Walton was arguably the greatest college basketball player of all time. How great? Well, he's one of three multiple-Naismith Award winning players. He won two NCAA titles and reached the national semifinals in his other season.

In an era before freshman eligibility, Walton debuted as the Naismith Player of the Year in 1972. He averaged 21.1 points and 15.5 rebounds per game for the 30-0 Bruins, who cruised to an NCAA title. Walton shot 64% during the season.

As a junior, UCLA again went undefeated, and Walton was again the nation's top player. In 1973, Walton averaged 20.4 ppg and 16.9 rpg and also upped his shooting to 65%.

In his senior season, Walton missed three games due to a back injury. He saw UCLA's 88-game winning streak ended by Notre Dame and lost to NC State and David Thompson in double overtime in the national semifinals. Despite his issues, Walton was the nation's top player, finishing with 19.3 ppg, 14.7 rpg, and 5.5 assists per game.

The lack of accurate and complete statistics in assists and blocked shots probably makes it impossible to quantify exactly how good Walton was. The first pick in the 1974 NBA Draft, Walton was runner-up for the NBA MVP Award in 1977 and won the Award in 1978.

He played 14 games over the next four seasons, as injuries derailed a promising career, but Walton is a college legend.

Ralph Sampson (1981, 1982, 1983)

A massively recruited seven-foot-four standout, Sampson chose Virginia. Despite never winning an NCAA title, he was a three-time Naismith Award winner for the Cavaliers. After a freshman season, he finished with 14.9 ppg, 11.2 rpg, and a nation leading 157 blocked shots and only improved.

As a sophomore, Sampson won the Naismith Award by averaging 17.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 3.1 blocked shots per game. Sampson led the 29-4 Cavaliers to the Final Four before falling to North Carolina.

The next season, Sampson won his second consecutive player of the year award. He averaged 15.8 ppg, 11.4 rpg and 3.1 bpg. Virginia went 30-4 but was upset in the Sweet 16. Sampson could have gone pro but elected to return for his senior season at UVA.

He won his third consecutive player of the year award in 1983. Sampson improved to 19.1 ppg and shot a career best 60.4%. He grabbed 11.7 rpg and again averaged 3.1 bpg. But the 29-5 Cavaliers came up short, getting upset by Jim Valvano's NC State team by a point in the regional final.

Sampson went first to Houston in the 1983 NBA Draft. Soon teamed with Hakeem Olajuwon, it was Olajuwon who became a star while Sampson increasingly floundered. Sampson was an All-Star in his first four NBA seasons but also battled injuries. Like Walton, Sampson was an NBA disappointment but a collegiate legend.

Zach Edey (2023, 2024)

Like the two prior multi-time Naismith Award winners, Edey is a massive center. While the other winners were highly touted prep standouts, Edey was a run-of-the-mill recruit. A three-star signee who hailed from Canada, Edey had to work his way up to collegiate stardom.

As a freshman, Edey scored 8.7 ppg coming off the bench. In his sophomore campaign, Edey improved to 14.4 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Still, it was quite a climb to back-to-back player of the year awards.

In 2023, Edey averaged 22.3 ppg and 12.9 rpg. He also made 60.7% of his shots. The 29-6 Boilermakers finished No. 3 in the last AP poll but suffered the indignity of a loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson to open the NCAA Tournament.

This year, Edey upped his average to 24.9 ppg and improved his shooting to 62.5%. Edey also averaged 12.2 rpg and 2.2 blocked shots per game. The Boilermakers transcended a tradition of poor March finishes with a run to the national title game, just the second such run in history.

Edey certainly seems unlikely to be picked first in the NBA Draft, like Walton or Sampson. But given the one-and-done culture of college basketball, could Edey be the last multiple winner of the Naismith Award? It seems like another repeat winner would require a perfect storm.