Mar. 22, 1964 - Oscar Robertson, the Cincinnati Royals’ talented backcourt man, today was voted the President’s Trophy — the NBA’s most valuable player award — by the largest margin on record. The voting is by NBA players, with the restriction that they cannot vote for members of their own teams.
Robertson received 60 of a possible 85 first-place votes. In the point scoring, Robertson received a total of 362 points, a record. Wilt Chamberlain of San Francisco, who won the trophy as a rookie in 1960, placed second in the voting with 19 first-place votes and 215 points. Bill Russell of Boston, the winner for the last three years, was third with 11 firsts and 167 points.
Others figuring in the voting were Bob Pettit, St. Louis, 69 points; Jerry West, Los Angeles, 39; Guy Johnson, Baltimore; Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles; and Hal Greer, Philadelphia, 3 each; Jerry Lucas, Cincinnati; Sam Jones, Boston; and Wayne Embry, Cincinnati, 1 each.
Robertson, who is 6-5 and weighs 205 pounds is only the second guard to top the President’s Trophy voting in nine years. The other was Boston’s Bob Cousy in 1957.
