page_title: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year
section_title: Winners
hierarchical_section_title: Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year / Winners
caption_attribution_description: Larry Bird's photo at Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
context_page_description: The Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year was an annual basketball award given to the most outstanding intercollegiate men's basketball player in the United States. The award was first given following the 1904–05 season and ceased being awarded after the 1981–82 season. It was the first major most valuable player award for men's basketball in the United States, and the Helms Athletic Foundation was considered within the basketball community to be the authority on men's college basketball for that era. Thus, the award was viewed as the premier player of the year award one could receive up until the 1960s, at which point the Naismith College Player of the Year and John R. Wooden Award took over as the national season MVP awards.
caption: Larry Bird was the recipient of the award in 1979.
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