The Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year is an annual award in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) that recognizes the league's "ideal teammate" who exemplifies "selfless play and commitment and dedication to his team." The award is named after

Jack Twyman John Kennedy Twyman (May 21, 1934 – May 30, 2012) was an American professional basketball player and sports broadcaster. Twyman is a namesake of the NBA's Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. Twyman was inducted into the Naismith Basket ...

and

Maurice Stokes Maurice Stokes (June 17, 1933 – April 6, 1970) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Cincinnati/Rochester Royals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1955 to 1958. Stokes was a three-time NBA All-Star, ...

. The two played together on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955 to

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

until Stokes' career was cut short after he suffered a head injury from a fall during a game against the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...

. Stokes later became paralyzed due to post-traumatic

encephalopathy Encephalopathy (; ) means any disorder or disease of the brain, especially chronic degenerative conditions. In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of overall brain dysfunction; this syndrome ...

, a brain injury that damages the motor-control center. Twyman then became Stokes' legal guardian and advocate until Stokes died in 1970. Every year, 12 players, six from each conference, are nominated by a panel of NBA executives. NBA players then cast votes for the award, with ten points given for each first-place vote, seven for a second-place vote, five points for third, three points for fourth, and one point for each fifth-place vote received. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award. The NBA presents the winner with the Twyman–Stokes Trophy and gives a $25,000 donation to a charity of the recipient's choice.

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

guard Chauncey Billups was the inaugural winner of the award in 2013. That year, Miami Heat forward Shane Battier finished second and New York Knicks guard

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

placed third. Battier then won the award for the 2013–14 season. Al Jefferson came in second and

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the great ...

finished third, who won in the 2016–17 season and was the only non-American and European awardee.

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

won the award for the 2014–15 season.

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 22 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, b ...

came in second and Elton Brand finished third. After coming in at second the previous year, Carter won the award for the 2015–16 season. Nowitzki is the only international player to win the award. The most recent winner is

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

guard

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

Winners

Multi-time winners

References

External sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award NBA awards NBA lists Awards established in 2013

Winners

Multi-time winners

See also

References

External sources