NBA Sportsmanship Award

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The National Basketball Association's Sportsmanship Award (also named the Joe Dumars Trophy after its first recipient) is an annual award given since the 1995-96 NBA season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court — ethical behavior, fair play and integrity".[1] This award is nearly comparable to the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in the National Hockey League, although unlike the Lady Byng, it does not demand excellence of play.

In its twelve-year history, only Grant Hill received this honor more than once, but two teams have had multiple players win the award (three San Antonio Spurs players and two Seattle SuperSonics players). The last four awards have gone to alumni of Duke University, with all four recipients being coached in college by Mike Krzyzewski.

[edit] All-time award winners

The following is a list of the all-time NBA Sportsmanship Award winners.[2]

Year Player Team
1995-96 Flag of the United States Joe Dumars Detroit Pistons
1996-97 Flag of the United States Terrell Brandon Cleveland Cavaliers
1997-98 Flag of the United States Avery Johnson San Antonio Spurs
1998-99 Flag of the United States Hersey Hawkins Seattle SuperSonics
1999-2000 Flag of the United States Eric Snow Philadelphia 76ers
2000-01 Flag of the United States David Robinson San Antonio Spurs
2001-02 Flag of the United States Steve Smith San Antonio Spurs
2002-03 Flag of the United States Ray Allen Seattle SuperSonics
2003-04 Flag of the United States P. J. Brown New Orleans Hornets
2004-05 Flag of the United States Grant Hill Orlando Magic
2005-06 Flag of the United States Elton Brand Los Angeles Clippers
2006-07 Flag of the United Kingdom Luol Deng Chicago Bulls
2007-08 Flag of the United States Grant Hill Phoenix Suns

[edit] Notes

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