Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey was named the winner of the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award on Thursday. Maxey, 23, receives the Joe Dumars Trophy just weeks after winning his first NBA Most Improved Player Award.
Introduced since 1995-96, the NBA Sportsmanship Award honors the player who best represents sportsmanship on the court. That includes “good behavior, fair play, and integrity.”
All 30 NBA teams nominate one of their players for this award, and a group of six league executives select one winner from each of the league's six divisions. The active NBA players decide the winner from a list of six finalists.
Presented annually since the 1995-96 season, the NBA Sportsmanship Award honors the player who best represents the cause of sports on the court.
Each NBA team has nominated one of its players for the 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award. From a list of 30 party nominees, the panel…
– NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 16, 2024
Maxey received 91 first-place votes and 2,545 total points. Kevin Love (Miami Heat) finished second, followed by Jarrett Allen (Cleveland Cavaliers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings), and Tre Jones (San Antonio Spurs).
Since 2000, the winners have been presented with a trophy named after Joe Dumars, the first recipient of the award who played for the Detroit Pistons.
His number 4 jersey was retired by the Pistons in March 2000. Dumars is the only Pistons player to wear this number since the team moved to Detroit.
The award has been presented annually since the 1995-96 season.
Tyrese Maxey is the first Philadelphia 76ers player to win the NBA Sportsmanship Award since Eric Snow in 2000.
Mike Conley has won the award four times, the most in NBA history. Grant Hill has won it three times and Kemba Walker and Jason Kidd have both won it twice.
The Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies lead all other teams with three awards each.
Nine franchises have never had one of their players win the award: Boston Celtics, Heat, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Washington Wizards.
Tyrese Maxey's parents surprise him with Joe Dumars' 2023-24 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner! 🫶 pic.twitter.com/74psGFkUFY
– NBA (@NBA) May 16, 2024
In addition, Maxey earned his first All-Star selection in 2023-24 and career-high averages of 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists in 70 games (all starts) in his fourth season with the Sixers. He also made a career-best 212 3-pointers.
The four-year veteran is the second 76er to win the Sportsmanship Award behind guard Eric Snow (1999-2000).
In Philadelphia's 127-124 game against the Jazz on Feb. 1, the guard scored a maximum of 51 points. He finished 17-of-27 (63%) shooting from the field, 7-of-9 (77.8%) from deep, and 10-of-11 (90.9%) from the foul line.
Tyrese Maxey finished the season as one of three players to post three or more 50-point games during the season. He was joined on the team by Joel Embiid and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker.
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