Wednesday 7 October 2020 06:35, UK
New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday won the NBA's 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award on Tuesday.
Presented annually since 2012-13 and voted on by the players, the award "recognises the player deemed the best team-mate based on selfless play, on-and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to (the) team," according to a league news release.
One of 12 nominees selected by a panel of league executives, Holiday received 53 of 267 first-place votes to finish with 1,041 total points.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris (48 first-place votes, 806 points) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Korver (26, 796) placed second and third, respectively.
Holiday, 30, averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 61 starts in 2019-20, his 11th season in the NBA and his seventh with New Orleans.
The award is named for Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, team-mates with the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955-58. Stokes was injured on the last day of the 1957-58 season, went into a coma days later and was ultimately paralyzed. Twyman became his legal guardian and advocate and supported Stokes until his death in 1970. Both men are enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Previous winners of the award include Mike Conley, Jamal Crawford, Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Tim Duncan, Shane Battier and Chauncey Billups.
