No Spartan has ever won the award in basketball, which began in 2001, although former MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins won the football Senior CLASS Award in 2011.

There are currently 30 total finalists for the award, including three other Big Ten players in Iowa's Mike Gessell, Purdue’s Rapheal Davis and Nebraska’s Shavon Shields. The list will be cut to a final 10 players in February who will be on the final ballot.

Also, on Jan. 13, 2016, Valentine was named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Wooden Award is given at the end of the season to the most outstanding college basketball player in the country as voted on by a panel of voters with each of the 50 states being represented. Valentine would also be the first Spartan ever to win the John R. Wooden Award which has been presented since 1977. MSU's Earvin "Magic" Johnson lost the award in 1979 to Indiana State's Larry Bird.

Along with Valentine, three other Big Ten athletes were named to the midseason top 25, including Maryland sophomore Melo Trimble, Iowa senior Jarrod Uthoff and Michigan senior Caris LeVert.

The Wooden Award list will be trimmed to 20 in February and to a final list of 15 before the start of the NCAA tournament. The winner will be announced at the 2016 Final Four in Houston, Texas.

This season, Valentine ranks third in the Big Ten in points per game, third in the Big Ten in assists per game and ranks sixth in the Big Ten in rebounds per game. In addition, Valentine's two triple-doubles this season were against Kansas on Nov. 17 and Boise State on Nov. 26.