NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award

The NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award was an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award presented to a player who recovered from a subpar season after achieving success in the past.[1] It was awarded from 1981 though 1986.[lower-alpha 1][3] Along with several other awards, it was created to increase interest in the league,[lower-alpha 2] whose championship series in 1980 was televised live in the markets of the participants, the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, but shown on tape delay in the rest of the United States, typically after the late-night news.[6] The Comeback Player of the Year was selected from a panel of 78 media members, three from each NBA city and another nine national media members.[7] Three of the six winners were returning from drug or alcohol dependency issues: inaugural winner Bernard King in 1980–81 and the final two winners, Micheal Ray Richardson (1984–85) and Marques Johnson (1985–86).[3][8][9] Two winners missed time the season prior due to a holdout: Gus Williams (1981–82) and Paul Westphal (1982–83).[10] Westphal was also coming back from an injury, as was 1983–84 winner Adrian Dantley.[11]

National Basketball Association awards and honors
Team awards
Individual awards
Honors

In the middle of the 1986–87 season, the NBA announced the end of the Comeback Player of the Year Award. According to league spokesman Russ Granik: "We phased it out because it became very difficult to determine with any kind of clarity exactly what the requirements were".[12] Drugs were reportedly a reason for the award's cancellation.[8][9][13] In addition to previous winners, candidates for the award that season included Walter Davis and John Lucas II, who had also returned from drugs.[8][14] In two years, Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins might also have been eligible for the award after having been banned for failed drug tests.[15] Under the NBA drug program at the time, a player who tested positive for drugs three times was automatically banned from the league, and was eligible to apply for reinstatement in two years.[16] Richardson could also have possibly qualified again that year,[14] having been banned following a positive test in 1986 after winning the award the previous year.[17] In the comeback award's final season in 1985–86, the league also launched the NBA Most Improved Player Award.[3] The criteria for selecting the most improved player award was initially open-ended, but the NBA clarified in later years that it was intended for an up-and-coming player who improved dramatically and not a player who made a comeback.[18][19]

Winners

Bernard King received the first award in 1981, a year after being suspended by his previous team, the Utah Jazz, following charges of sodomy, forcible sexual abuse, and possession of cocaine. After a stay at an alcohol rehabilitation center, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors, where he averaged 21.9 points per game during the season.[4] Gus Williams won in 1982 after being named an NBA All-Star and finishing seventh in the league in scoring (23.4).[20] He missed the entire 1980–81 season due to a contract dispute.[1] Paul Westphal won in 1982–83, when he averaged 10 points and 5.5 assists and helped the New York Knicks qualify for the playoffs, after he missed portions of two seasons with foot injuries and contract issues.[21] Adrian Dantley won in 1983–84 when he became a four-time All-Star and won his second NBA scoring title after missing 60 of 82 games the prior season and undergoing surgery on his injured right wrist.[10][22]

Micheal Ray Richardson won the award in 1985 after earning his fourth All-Star selection, averaging a career-high 20.1 points per game, and leading the league in steals. He played in only 48 games the previous season while undergoing drug rehab and missing six other games with an ankle injury.[7][23] Marques Johnson was the 1986 winner after being named an All-Star as a guard following four selections as a forward. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers from the Milwaukee Bucks the year before, but he had career lows in scoring and shooting. The Clippers moved him to guard in 1985–86, and he bounced back with an all-star season.[24] Johnson went through a drug rehabilitation center four years earlier.[25]

Gus Williams won in 1982 after being named an All-Star.
Key
* Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Winners[3]
Season Player Position Team
1980–81 Bernard King* Forward Golden State Warriors
1981–82 Gus Williams Guard Seattle SuperSonics
1982–83 Paul Westphal* Guard New York Knicks
1983–84 Adrian Dantley* Forward Utah Jazz
1984–85 Micheal Ray Richardson Guard New Jersey Nets
1985–86 Marques Johnson Guard Los Angeles Clippers

Notes
  1. There was no official award in 1980,[2][3][4] though some sources mention Nate Archibald as the 1979–80 winner.[1][5]
  2. The Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year awards were introduced in 1982–83.[6]

References
  1. Wright, Bart (January 10, 1982). "Did Sam add bizarre twist to an NBA image?". The Tacoma News Tribune. p. B-2. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Sachare, Alex (April 5, 1980). "Jabbar Should Be Named Basketball MVP". the Burlington Free Press. The Associated Press. pp. 6B, 7B. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. There's no official Comeback Player of the Year award, but if there was, this vote would go to Tiny Archibald of Boston.
  3. Stein, Marc (November 18, 2002). "Here's one vote for comeback player award". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 11, 2002. Bernard King won the maiden award in Golden State in 1980-81, with New Jersey's Micheal Ray Richardson (1984-85) and the Clippers' Marques Johnson (1985-86) winning the last two before the league office mandated a switch to the Most Improved Award for image reasons.
  4. "NBA names Bernard King Comeback Player of Year". Great Falls Tribune. AP. May 29, 1981. p. 2-B. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. King's remarkable turnaround was spotlighted at the National Basketball Association' annual summer meetings, where he received the first Comeback Player of the Year Award.
  5. "NBA & ABA Comeback Player of the Year Award Winners". Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  6. Shoulder, Ken (2003). Total Basketball: The Ultimate Basketball Encyclopedia. Sports Media Publishing. pp. 520–521. ISBN 1894963016. Retrieved May 28, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  7. "Nets' Richardson picked comeback player of year". The Evening Press. May 14, 1985. p. 10B. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Newman, Mark (February 8, 1987). "Skill is an ageless quality for some players". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 6B. Retrieved April 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Kahn, Mike (February 8, 1987). "'Nique gets well: Beating Celts will do that for a guy". The News Tribune. p. C-7. Retrieved April 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Hemphill, Lex (May 17, 1984). "Dantley is NBA's Comeback Player of Year". The Salt Lake Tribune. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Come back when you have a less embarrassing award". The Courier-Journal. February 15, 1987. p. C-13. Retrieved April 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Denberg, Jeff (February 8, 1987). "Comeback award won't come back". The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. p. 17B. Retrieved April 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Dr. J game-winner didn't come to pass". Minneapolis Star and Tribune. February 15, 1987. p. 12C. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Price, S. L. (February 8, 1987). "Warriors Carroll, Floyd can finally be called All-Stars". The Sacramento Bee. p. C9. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "The New Jordan? He's In Charlotte And Likes Duke". Durham Morning Herald. February 15, 1987. p. 2B. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "NBA LIFTS DRUG BAN FROM RICHARDSON". The Washington Post. July 22, 1988. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  17. McManis, Sam (February 28, 1986). "THE TROUBLING CAREER OF MICHEAL RAY RICHARDSON". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  18. Stein, Marc (April 9, 2019). "This Is Who Should Win the 2018-19 N.B.A. Awards". The New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  19. Mahoney, Rob (January 28, 2014). "The Fundamentals: The many layers and many candidates for Most Improved Player". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  20. "Gus wins comeback player award". The News Tribune. June 16, 1982. p. B-4. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Nelson is coach of year". Leader-Telegram. AP. June 16, 1983. p. 1B. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Dantley's Comeback Complete". The Daily Herald. October 7, 1984. p. 52. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. "Nets' Richardson banned from NBA after drug test". The Berkshire Eagle. UPI. February 26, 1986. p. 29. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. "Johnson wins comeback award". The Sacramento Bee. May 17, 1986. p. AA3. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. Baker, Chris (August 5, 1986). "Clippers' Star Has Experience That Makes His Message Meaningful : Marques Johnson Is Telling it Like It Was". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
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