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The NBA Rookie of the Year Award is given to the most outstanding rookie of the season. More often than not, the race for the award usually shows a clear winner, such as the 2023-23 season when the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama won unanimously.
However, there have been times when it was competitive. There is no clear favorite for the current season, although Stephon Castle might give the Spurs the winners of the award in consecutive seasons. So let's look at the 10 tightest NBA Rookie of the Year races in NBA history, ranked, to see just how close the awards races can be.
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1. 1970-71
The 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year race marked the first time there were two award winners. The winners were Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie. Cowens averaged 17.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game. On the other hand, Petrie had 24.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Both players won 36 points to become the first co-Rookie of the Year winners in NBA history.
3. 1994-95
The second time the NBA witnessed two NBA Rookie of the Year winners in the same season was in 1995. The winners were Jason Kidd and Grant Hill. Both players earned 43 points in voting. Both lottery picks made a good account of themselves in their first year in the league for their respective teams. Kidd averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. Hill, on the other hand, led all rookies in scoring with 19.9 points per game.
2. 1999-00
The third and most recent time there were two NBA Rookie of the Year winners was in 2000. Elton Brand and Steve Francis earned 58 points apiece. Brand averaged a double-double of 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, while Francis was an offensive force for the Houston Rockets. The latter put up 18.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game.
4. 1980-81
For the 1980-81 season, it was second overall pick of the 1980 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, Darrell Griffith, who took the NBA Rookie of the Year honors. Griffith led all rookies with 20.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. However, it wasn't a walk in the park voting-wise. Nearly toppling him in votes was Kelvin Ramsey, who earned 18 points, just one point shy of Griffith's voting tally. The fourth overall pick selected by the Portland Trail Blazers averaged 15.2 points per game.
5. 1974-75
The 1974-75 season was certainly a tight NBA Rookie of the Year race. John Drew pretty much led all rookies with an average of 18.5 points and 10.7 rebounds while playing for the Atlanta Hawks. However, the Hawks only posted a 31-51 record. This paved the way for Jamaal Wilkes to steal the award. Averaging 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the 48-34 Golden State Warriors, Wilkes received 7.6 voting points, beating out Drew's 5.1.
6. 1993-94
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Rookies Chris Webber and Anfernee Hardaway were neck-and-neck fighting for the 1993-94 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Hardaway ultimately gave it his all, putting up 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game during his freshman year with the Orlando Magic. However, it was Webber who prevailed. The Golden State Warriors rookie put up 17.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game to earn 53 voting points, six more than Hardaway's total.
7. 1996-97
It's quite rare to see two players of the same position battle it out in the NBA Rookie of the Year race. However, in the 1996-97 season, fans were in for a treat as they witnessed two of the greatest point guard rookies in Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury compete for the award. Iverson ultimately won with 44 points to Marbury's 35. Iverson was simply better, averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.
8. 2021-22
Unexpectedly, the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year race featured the third and fourth overall picks of the 2021 NBA Draft. Both Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley are also towering big men for their respective teams. Mobley had a stellar rookie year, putting up 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. But the award went to Barnes, who earned 378 voting points, 12 more than Mobley. The Toronto Raptors' fourth overall pick produced 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
9. 1981-82
Kelly Tripuka was probably the most lethal scoring rookie during the 1982 NBA Rookie of the Year race. He scored 21.6 points per game for the lowly 39-43 Detroit Pistons. Nonetheless, it was Buck Williams who was able to garner more votes with 33 points. Williams was a double-double machine for the 44-38 New Jersey Nets, averaging 15.5 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.
10. 2003-04
The least tight NBA Rookie of the Year race in this list is the 2003-04 NBA Rookie of the Year race. Although LeBron James ran away with 508 points, Carmelo Anthony was in striking distance during the course of the regular season. Melo actually averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game for a much better 43-39 Denver Nuggets. On the other hand, James became one of the few rookies to post a 20-5-5 rookie season for a dysfunctional 35-47 Cleveland Cavaliers team.
