 On the day of the deadline to withdraw from the June 16 2008 NBA draft, Lawson decided to return to North Carolina for his junior season, along with Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and All-American Tyler Hansbrough, who all spurned the NBA draft to return to UNC, leaving the starters for the 2007–08 season intact for the 2008–09 season.Lawson was voted to the All-ACC First Team his junior year and was named the ACC Player of the Year, the first time a point guard had won the ACC's highest honor since fellow Tar Heel Phil Ford won the award in 1978.Lawson was also a consensus second-team all-American as a junior, making him eligible to have his jersey honored in the rafters of the Smith Center at the conclusion of his college career.