NBA players have selected Miami Heat forward Shane Battier as the recipient of the 2013-14 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. A panel of NBA Legends nominated six players from each conference for the award, which recognizes the NBA player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and his commitment and dedication to his team.
Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, whose storied friendship transcended their on-court Hall of Fame accomplishments, are permanently honored with an annual NBA award in their names that recognizes the ideal teammate. Twyman and Stokes were friends and teammates on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955 to 1958. In the last game of the 1957-58 regular season, Stokes suffered an on-court injury that led to him falling into a coma days later, leaving him permanently paralyzed. Diagnosed with posttraumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury that damaged his motor-control center, Stokes was supported for the rest of his life by Twyman, who became his legal guardian and advocate.
Twyman helped organize the NBA's Maurice Stokes Memorial Basketball game, held at Kutsher's Hotel and Country Club in Monticello, N.Y., which raised funds for Stokes's medical care and, following his death in 1970 at age 36, for other players in need. In 2004, after years of lobbying by Twyman, Stokes was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Twyman, who was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1983, died in 2012.
As part of its support for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, the NBA will make a $25,000 donation to The Battier Take Charge Foundation, which is dedicated to providing resources for the development and education of underserved youth and teens.
In this year’s award voting, Battier totaled 1,322 total points, including 67 first-place votes. Charlotte Hornets forward/center Al Jefferson finished second with 798 points (29 first-place votes), and Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki placed third with 784 points (28 first-place votes).
Ten points were awarded for a first-place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth; players were not allowed to vote for a player on their own team. Along with the Battier, the finalists included Elton Brand (Atlanta Hawks), Jefferson, Mike Dunleavy (Chicago Bulls), Nowitzki, Andre Iguodala (Golden State Warriors), David West (Indiana Pacers), Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers), Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic), Channing Frye (Phoenix Suns), and Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs).
- NBA Press Release
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