170,000 Fan Ballots Cast via Starting Five Fan Voting Presented by Dell Technologies
Bristol, Conn. – Today on ESPN’s College Game Day coverage of the NCAA Men’s Final Four in New Orleans, the Basketball Hall of Fame revealed this year’s five positional award winners, also known as the Naismith Starting Five. The winners were determined by a combination of input from committees composed of top basketball personnel and over 170,000 votes cast over the course of the season via Starting Five Fan Voting Presented by Dell Technologies.
In addition to the esteemed Bob Cousy Point Guard Award which has been presented since 2004, the Basketball Hall of Fame established four additional awards in the 2014-15 season: the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award, the Karl Malone Power Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award. Each award’s namesake headed his own selection committee to evaluate candidates throughout the 2021-22 season.
"The Basketball Hall of Fame is proud to celebrate the best players in the game, both men and women at every level,” said John Doleva, President of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “This group of student athletes not only had terrific seasons, but also embody the characteristics of the basketball legends they are named after. We are honored to present these awards to a very deserving class of individuals who will undoubtedly carry on the tradition and legacy of this program very proudly. Today we honor them for their accomplishments and recognize them as our 2022 Men’s Naismith Starting Five.”
2021-22 Men’s Naismith Starting Five:
Collin Gillespie (Villanova, Graduate Student) – Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award
15.6 pts/gm, 3.9 reb/gm, 3.3 ast/gm
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin, So.) – Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award
19.7 pts/gm, 8.2 reb/gm, 2.1 ast/gm
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke, Jr.) – Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award
13.5 pts/gm, 5.2 reb/gm, 4.4 ast/gm, 41.1 3pt%
Keegan Murray (Iowa, So.) – Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award
23.5 pts/gm, 8.7 reb/gm, 1.5 ast/gm, 55.4 fg%
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky, Jr.) – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award
17.4 pts/gm, 15.1 reb/gm, 1.6 blk/gm, 60.6 fg%
A complete list of finalists can be found below. For more information, visit www.HoophallAwards.com or follow @hoophall on Instagram and Twitter.
2022 Men’s Naismith Starting Five Finalists
Bob Cousy Award Finalists
James Akinjo (Baylor)
Tyger Campbell (UCLA)
Collin Gillespie (Villanova)
Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga)
Sahvir Wheeler (Kentucky)
Jerry West Award Finalists
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
Julius Erving Award Finalists
Julian Champagnie (St. John’s)
Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
Hyunjung Lee (Davidson)
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke)
Karl Malone Award Finalists
Paolo Banchero (Duke)
Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
EJ Liddell (Ohio State)
Keegan Murray (Iowa)
Jabari Smith (Auburn)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Finalists
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
Walker Kessler (Auburn)
Adama Sanogo (UConn)
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame:
Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where basketball was born, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level – men and women, amateur and professional players, coaches and contributors, both domestically and internationally. The Hall of Fame museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the game’s elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. For more information on the Basketball Hall of Fame organization, its museum and events, visit www.hoophall.com, follow @hoophall or call 1-877-4HOOPLA.