Jrue Holiday wins 2020-21 NBA Sportsmanship award

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has received the Joe Dumars Trophy as the winner of the 2020-21 NBA Sportsmanship Award, the NBA announced today.  The annual award is designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.

Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the NBA Sportsmanship Award.  From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel of league executives selected one finalist from each of the NBA’s six divisions.  Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of six finalists, with nearly 350 players submitting their votes through confidential balloting conducted by the league office.

In addition to Holiday (Central Division), the finalists were Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (Southeast), Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (Pacific), Minnesota Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie (Northwest), Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker (Atlantic) and San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White (Southwest).

Holiday received 130 of 343 first-place votes and earned 2,752 total points in balloting of NBA players.  Walker, a two-time winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award, finished in second place with 2,474 points.  The six finalists were awarded 11 points for each first-place vote, nine points for each second-place vote, seven points for each third-place vote, five points for each fourth-place vote, three points for each fifth-place vote and one point for each sixth-place vote. 

A 12-year NBA veteran, Holiday has won the NBA Sportsmanship Award for the first time.  Last season, he won the 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award in recognition of his selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.

Holiday, 30, was selected as an NBA All-Star in the 2012-13 season and named to the NBA All-Defensive Team in 2017-18 and 2018-19.  This season, he averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 59 games for the Bucks, who acquired him from the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a four-team trade on Nov. 24, 2020.  Holiday was a co-winner, along with Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Richardson, of the January NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in recognition of his efforts to provide support for those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NBA Sportsmanship Award is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, a six-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion.  Dumars played 14 NBA seasons and won the inaugural Sportsmanship Award in the 1995-96 season.

Below are the voting totals for the 2020-21 NBA Sportsmanship Award and the all-time list of winners.

winners.

VOTING RESULTS: 2020-21 NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
1995-96 – Joe Dumars, Detroit
1996-97 – Terrell Brandon, Cleveland
1997-98 – Avery Johnson, San Antonio
1998-99 – Hersey Hawkins, Seattle
1999-00 – Eric Snow, Philadelphia
2000-01 – David Robinson, San Antonio
2001-02 – Steve Smith, San Antonio
2002-03 – Ray Allen, Seattle
2003-04 – P.J. Brown, New Orleans
2004-05 – Grant Hill, Orlando
2005-06 – Elton Brand, LA Clippers
2006-07 – Luol Deng, Chicago
2007-08 – Grant Hill, Phoenix
2008-09 – Chauncey Billups, Denver
2009-10 – Grant Hill, Phoenix
2010-11 – Stephen Curry, Golden State
2011-12 – Jason Kidd, Dallas
2012-13 – Jason Kidd, New York
2013-14 – Mike Conley, Memphis
2014-15 – Kyle Korver, Atlanta
2015-16 – Mike Conley, Memphis
2016-17 – Kemba Walker, Charlotte
2017-18 – Kemba Walker, Charlotte
2018-19 – Mike Conley, Memphis
2019-20 – Vince Carter, Atlanta
2020-21 – Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee