Serving as the equivalent to college football’s Heisman Trophy, the John Wooden College Basketball Player of the award offered here was listed as the one presented to Michael Jordan when it hit the market back in 2011. Since Jordan’s name was the last name engraved on the trophy, it was not a leap of faith to make that assumption. However, as the story goes, the trophy was damaged when shipped to Jordan and a new model was sent in replacement. This offered example was purported to be the restored Jordan original.

Similar to the Stanley Cup, there are two trophies made for this prestigious John Wooden College Basketball Player of the Year Award. The awarding player, such as previous winners like Larry Bird and Michael Jordan are sent their own models to keep after the award ceremony, but the original award, a perpetual model, is simply updated annually with the engraved names of the latest champion to lift in the air, but is not owned by the athlete. According to the manufacturer of the trophy, this piece was not Jordan's personal original, but rather the annual trophy that was ceremonially presented to each winner from Marques Johnson in the debut of the Wooden Award in 1977 to Michael Jordan in 1984 with winners in between that included Larry Bird in 1979, Danny Ainge in 1980 and Virginia's Ralph Sampson in 1982 and 1983. Each winning player was shipped a slightly different version, but the engraved plaques at the base listing each winner from 1977 through 1984 confirm that this is the original John R. Wooden Award.

The trophy was indeed damaged following the 1984 presentation to basketball's greatest star Michael Jordan, sending it into retirement and the need for a newly constructed replacement to be displayed and ultimately presented in the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The trophy was damaged prior to the 1985 award ceremonies and has since been professionally repaired. The trophy measures approximately 17 ¾ x 12 ½ x 8 ½ inches, with its most distinguishable design feature being the five basketball players atop the solid wooden base, representing coach John Wooden's ideal of a total basketball player as one who excels in dribbling, shooting, defending, passing and rebounding. The figures are cast, hand-polished and soldered together, electroplated to the base. The figures are constructed of a zinc alloy and stand atop a pentagonal base that is plated with copper and nickel and then plated with bronze for the polished finish and weighs approximately 25 pounds.

Affixed to the central portion of the base is an engraved plaque that supplies the historic significance: "THE LOS ANGELES ATHLETIC CLUB, JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD, PRESENTED ANNUALLY TO THE OUTSTANDING COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL PLAYER IN THE UNITED STATES". The lower base holds the engraved year, name and college of every recipient, with one panel reading “1977 MARQUES JOHNSON UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES / 1978 PHIL FORD UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA / 1979 LARRY BIRD INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY / 1980 DARRELL GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE / 1981 DANNY AINGE BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY”. The adjacent panel reads “1982 RALPH SAMPSON UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA / 1983 UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA / 1984 MICHAEL JORDAN UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA”. This is a great opportunity to own a prestigious award that was presented to some of the best basketball players of that era and the greatest of all time in Michael Jordan. Please note that third party shipping will be required for this item and due to the size and weight, shipping costs will be higher.

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