NCAA MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS IN THE PBA
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In the U.S., this month is known for the NCAA National Championship, and March Madness has produced many triumphs, plenty of heartbreak, a bunch of upsets, and players who went on to become NBA icons.
Among the well-known names are Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Jerry Lucas, Bill Walton, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Isiah Thomas, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor). These names are part of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team and have also won the NCAA Most Outstanding Player award.
The NCAA MOP is essentially their version of the NBA Finals MVP award.
While Jerry West is the only player to win the NBA Finals MVP award from the losing team, the NCAA has given this honor to ten men and one woman, including Chamberlain, West, Lucas, Bill Bradley, and Olajuwon. Legendary point guard Dawn Staley is the only woman to win the award while on the losing team.
Kareem is the only player to win three consecutive MOPs, while current New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart began and ended her NCAA career with the UConn Huskies by winning an MOP after the season. Michael Jordan never won the MOP despite earning a title with the North Carolina Tar Heels, losing the award to Worthy.
That said, just because a player won an MOP doesn’t guarantee a big-time NBA career. In fact, some MOP winners never got to play in the NBA at all. Here are the last five men’s winners of the award:
YEAR | MOP WINNER | COLLEGE | DRAFT | CURRENT TEAM |
2021 | JARED BUTLER | BAYLOR | 2021 | RD 2 - 40 | NOR | CRVENA ZVEZDA (SERBIA) |
2022 | OCHAI AGBAJI | KANSAS | 2022 | RD 1 - 14 | CLE | BROOKLYN NETS |
2023 | ADAMA SANOGO | CONNECTICUT | 2023 | UNDRAFTED | HAPOEL HOLON (ISRAEL) |
2024 | TRISTEN NEWTON | CONNECTICUT | 2024 | RD 2 - 49 | IND | HOUSTON / RIO GRANDE (2-WAY) |
2025 | WALTER CLAYTON JR. | FLORIDA | 2025 | RD 1 - 18 | WASH | MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES |
Through the years, the PBA has featured two former MOP winners and one player who has represented the country in international competition. Let’s take a look at these players.
KEITH SMART
In 1987, Keith Smart led the Bobby Knight–coached Indiana Hoosiers to an NCAA National Championship, beating the Syracuse Orangemen in nerve-racking fashion, 74–73. Smart finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. He also went 9-of-15 from the field but almost lost the award to Steve Alford, who hit seven triples in the game to finish with 23 points.
Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly, and Sherman Douglas were among the Orangemen the Hoosiers defeated to win the title.
Anyway, Smart was then selected 41st overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors but was unable to break through their roster. He would see action in the NBA for just two games, averaging one point and one assist with the San Antonio Spurs in the 1988–89 season.
His PBA stint was brief and somewhat unique, as he played for the San Miguel Beermen in the 1989 PBA Reinforced Conference. He had been balling for the team until he suffered an injury, and San Miguel decided to release him after five games, replacing him with Ennis Whatley. Whatley and the Beermen would eventually win the championship and, in the process, became the third PBA team—after the 1976 Crispa Redmanizers and the 1983 Crispa Redmanizers—to win a grand slam.
Technically, this makes Smart the first player to win both an NCAA MOP and a PBA championship.
DONALD WILLIAMS
There is no asterisk attached to Donald Williams’ PBA championship. The Zoom Masters defeated the Mobiline Phone Pals in seven hard-fought games. I saw him in action during the 1998 PBA Governors’ Cup, which was at the height of Shell’s second championship drive, with Benjie Paras finally injury-free alongside Shell’s other super import, John Best. Shell's championship core also had Victor Pablo, Gerry Esplana, Chris Jackson, Jun Marzan, Richie Ticzon, and rookie Noy Castillo, with Perry Ronquillo serving as chief tactician. Williams was in his element as John Best’s running buddy, nailing jumper after jumper and even taking over at times when Best was struggling offensively.
Years prior, Williams also helped the North Carolina Tar Heels win the NCAA title in 1993 by defeating the Michigan Wolverines, 77–71. He led all scorers with 25 points, going 8-for-12 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range. And while he had future NBA players Eric Montross and George Lynch as support, as well as legendary coach Dean Smith calling the shots, he also had to contend with Michigan’s Fab Five, led by Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. The team also had future Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka as a key reserve.
Williams continued to play for North Carolina for two more years after the championship and reached the Final Four during his senior year. While he maintained his numbers, most of the attention was focused on North Carolina’s talented duo of Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace. Williams went undrafted in the 1995 NBA Draft but found success as a basketball journeyman.
MARIO CHALMERS
While technically Mario Chalmers never saw action in the PBA, he did represent the Zamboanga Valientes during the 2023 ABL season. However, Chalmers did not win a championship during this stint, as the Valientes were unable to make the Final Four.
That said, Chalmers is one of those players who can boast of winning both an NCAA title and an NBA title, serving as one of the starting guards for the Miami Heat team that featured the triumvirate of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.
“Super Mario” was named Most Outstanding Player when his Kansas Jayhawks, which also featured Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, and Cole Aldrich, defeated the Memphis Tigers, 75–68, to win the 2008 NCAA National Tournament. Had Kansas lost, Derrick Rose would have had an NCAA title. Aside from eventual NBA players Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey, Rose’s Memphis teammates also included former Alaska import Robert Dozier and Pierre Henderson-Niles.
Dozier later won a championship and the Best Import award when he led the Alaska Aces to the 2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup title, while Henderson-Niles helped the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters win the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship.
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