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NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

April 2nd, 2025 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced the 2024/25 finalists for a pair of awards on Wednesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.

The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.

The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

Holiday is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who has earned the honor in the past — he won it in 2021. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey won the award last season.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2024/25. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.

Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, while Timberwolves guard Mike Conley has also won the award twice, including in 2024. However, neither of those veterans is a finalist this season.

The Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

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Award Candidates Who Still Need To Reach 65-Game Mark

April 2nd, 2025 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

There are just 12 days left in the 2024/25 regular season, which means time is running out for certain end-of-season award candidates to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

A player doesn’t need to reach that 65-game mark in order to be eligible for Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or All-Rookie teams, but it’s a necessary requirement for most of the marquee awards: Most Valuable Player, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and Most Improved Player.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the following players who could be in the mix for one or more of those awards haven’t yet met the 65-game criteria, but still have a chance to do so:

In some cases, a player’s actual games played total doesn’t match up with the figure noted above. That’s because in order for a game to count before the 65-game minimum, the player must be on the court for at least 20 minutes. A player is also permitted to count a maximum of two games between 15 and 20 minutes toward that minimum.

Let’s use Mobley as an example. The Cavaliers big man has technically appeared in 66 games this season, but he played just 12 minutes in one of those games, 18 minutes in two of them, and 19 minutes in one. That means he only has 64 games that actually count toward the minimum — all 62 games in which he played 20-plus minutes, along with two of those games between 15-20 minutes.

Mobley will have to play at least 20 minutes once more this season in order to be eligible for awards like Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and All-NBA. Given that he’s healthy and the Cavs still have seven games left on their schedule, Mobley should have no problem meeting that requirement. But it’ll be a taller order for some of the other players on this list.

Durant is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain and has been ruled out for at least two more games. He would have to play 20-plus minutes in three of the Suns‘ final four games to be award-eligible. Brunson, on the shelf due to his own ankle sprain, is in a similar boat, though the Knicks guard has a chance to return before Durant does.

Lillard, who is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf, seems pretty unlikely to play in six of the Bucks‘ last seven games. Holiday is healthy but has no wiggle room to miss any of the Celtics‘ remaining seven games.

Many of this year’s other top award contenders have already met the 65-game criteria. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic did so in style on Tuesday night — his 65th game of the season was an incredible 61-point triple-double in a 140-139 double-overtime loss to Minnesota.

However, according to the latest straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Jokic is the clear runner-up to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who has played 72 games) in the MVP race. Of the 100 media members polled by Bontemps, 77 picked the Thunder guard as their Most Valuable Player, while just 23 chose Jokic. The three-time MVP may need a couple more performances like Tuesday’s in order to close that gap by the end of the season.

Besides Jokic, one other notable player who has narrowly eclipsed the 65-game minimum is Cade Cunningham. The Pistons guard has missed four games in a row with a left calf injury and is considered doubtful to return on Wednesday, but he played his 65th game on March 19, prior to his recent absence.

That’s especially important for Cunningham and the Pistons because, as Bontemps notes, the fourth-year guard is considered a virtual lock to earn a spot on one of this year’s All-NBA teams, which will ensure that his maximum-salary rookie scale extension begins at 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap instead of 25%. That would increase the overall projected value of Cunningham’s five-year deal from $224.2MM to $269.1MM.

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Dyson Daniels, Draymond Green Named Defensive Players Of The Month

April 1st, 2025 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, who was named the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for games played in October/November, has won the award for the second time this season, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). Daniels is the East’s Defensive Player of the Month for March.

Daniels, who has become a legitimate contender for Defensive Player of the Year in his first season as a Hawk, continued to wreak havoc on opposing offenses in March, leading the NBA in steals (3.3), deflections (5.4), and forced turnovers (3.1) per contest over the course of 14 games as Atlanta went 9-5.

Daniels is the second Eastern Conference player to be recognized with two Defensive Player of the Month awards this season, joining Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, who earned the honor in both December and February.

Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, Warriors forward Draymond Green was named the Defensive Player of the Month for March.

Green, who advocated for himself as a top DPOY candidate a couple weeks ago, backed up the claim with his performance on that end of the court in March. According to the NBA, Green ranked third in the West in steals (1.9) and contested shots (9.1) per game for the month, while Golden State had the fourth-best defensive rating in the league (109.7).

Five different players have been named Defensive Player of the Month in the West this season — Green joins Victor Wembanyama, Jaren Jackson Jr., Amen Thompson, and Toumani Camara as the honorees in the award’s inaugural season.

Mobley, Knicks forward OG Anunoby, and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes were also nominated for the Eastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Month award for March, according to the NBA (Twitter link). The West’s other nominees were Camara, Clippers center Ivica Zubac, and Thunder wing Luguentz Dort.

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Community Shootaround: Western Conference Playoff Race

March 30th, 2025 at 12:01pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder already secured the top seed in the Western Conference and seem on their way to clinching the top overall seed entering the 2025 playoffs. However, the five remaining guaranteed playoff spots in the West are still up for grabs.

The Rockets have been playing excellent basketball over the past few weeks and have surged up to No. 2 in the West with a 48-26 record. Only a catastrophic collapse would prevent them from earning a top-six seed, as they hold a 5.5-game lead on the No. 7 Warriors with eight games remaining.

The Nuggets, who are currently the No. 3 seed with a 47-28 record, are also in a strong position to earn a guaranteed playoff berth, as they’re four games up on Golden State with seven games remaining. It’s worth noting that Houston and Denver have among the most difficult remaining schedules, per Tankathon, but both clubs have a decent cushion on their closest competitors.

Saturday’s game between the Lakers and Grizzlies was a key matchup for both teams. The No. 4 Lakers (45-29) emerged victorious and earned the head-to-head tiebreaker on the No. 5 Grizzlies (44-30).

Even after the win though, the Lakers are just 5-8 over their past 13 games. They also have the second-hardest remaining schedule of any team, including four matchups against Oklahoma City and Houston over their final eight games.

The slumping Grizzlies are just 1.5 games ahead of the Clippers and Warriors, who hold identical 42-31 records, and two games up on the No. 8 Timberwolves (42-32). The Clips hold the tiebreaker on the Dubs, which is why they’re currently the No. 6 seed.

To word it in a different way: Only three games separate the Nos. 4-8 seeds in the West. And by opponent winning percentage, Minnesota has — by far — the easiest schedule left of the group.

Of the five teams bunched together in the standings, the Clippers and Warriors are the only ones with nine games left; the other three each have eight.

Securing a top-six seed is critical, as it ensures teams will make the playoffs outright. Those who fall outside of the top six will have to compete in the play-in tournament to try and claim the final two playoff spots in the West. Dallas, Sacramento and Phoenix are essentially in a three-way race for the ninth and tenth seeds and thus the final two spots in the play-in.

We want to know what you think. Aside from the Thunder, which other five teams will secure top-six seeds in the West? Which teams will be heading to the play-in tournament? Head to the comments section to weigh in.

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Western Notes: Curry, Kuminga, Collier, Fertitta

March 29th, 2025 at 7:54am CST by Luke Adams

Stephen Curry‘s pelvic contusion only forced him to miss two games, but the Warriors star said after making his return on Friday vs. New Orleans that he expects to “feel it for a while,” as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN notes. Still, Curry, who suffered a hairline fracture in his tailbone when he fell hard onto courtside stairs during the 2020/21 season, was relieved not to get a similar diagnosis this time around.

“I think that (this time it didn’t) break anything or have any bone damage, was mostly just a deep serious contusion that I’ll feel it for a while,” Curry said. “But I can play and I can’t make it worse as long as I don’t land on it again.”

Curry made just 7-of-21 shots across 34 minutes in Friday’s win over the Pelicans and spoke after the game about needing to work on his timing and endurance. But head coach Steve Kerr believes that getting a week off at this point of the season – even if he spent most of it recovering from an injury – will benefit Curry this spring.

“I thought he looked great,” Kerr said, per Youngmisuk. “He was moving really well. Took care of the ball. I thought Steph played an excellent game. He probably missed his last five or six threes, so the numbers don’t look great, but he looked like himself. And I think the week off did him a lot of good.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • With Warriors guard Gary Payton II sidelined due to a thumb injury, Kerr believes there’s an opening for forward Jonathan Kuminga to step up and take on some of the defensive responsibilities that the team had given to Payton (Twitter video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “It opens up an opportunity for JK to be that defensive stopper, the guy we’ve relied on Gary to be,” Kerr said. “JK’s the obvious guy. Put him on the best offensive player, pick up full (court), harass people like Gary does. I’m going to ask JK to do that. It definitely opens up more minutes for him if he’s effective with that.” Kuminga, who have averaged just 23.4 minutes per game in eight contests since returning from an ankle sprain, didn’t have one specific defensive assignment on Friday against a New Orleans team missing most of its top scorers.
  • Speaking to NBA insider Chris Haynes on the first episode of the Haynes Briefs YouTube show, Jazz guard Isaiah Collier said that not being selected to participate in last month’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend motivated him and added “fuel to the fire” (Twitter video link). As Andy Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required), the Jazz are making a strong promotional push to get Collier a spot on an All-Rookie team, dedicating a section of their website to making his case for consideration. It has been up-and-down season for the first-year guard, but since he entered Utah’s starting lineup on January 5, Collier has more assists than anyone in the NBA besides Trae Young, Nikola Jokic, and James Harden.
  • While Tilman Fertitta has indicated that he’ll resign as CEO of Landry’s Inc. if he’s confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino, the Rockets owner won’t be stepping away from his controlling interest in the NBA franchise, writes Erica Grieder of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I have been advised that during my service as Ambassador, the Embassy may address particular matters affecting the financial interests of the National Basketball Association, of which the Houston Rockets professional basketball team is a member,” Fertitta wrote in a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. “The agency has determined that it is not necessary at this time for me to divest my interests in the Houston Rockets because my recusal from particular matters in which these interests may pose a conflict of interest will not substantially limit my ability to perform the essential duties of Ambassador.”
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Western Notes: Curry, K. Jones, Payton, Mitchell, Jazz

March 27th, 2025 at 7:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is optimistic that Stephen Curry will return from his pelvic contusion on Friday in New Orleans, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Slater, Curry took part in a six-minute scrimmage followed by an individual workout on Thursday. The two-time MVP, who has missed the past two games, will be listed as questionable for Friday’s contest. Curry sustained the injury on March 20 after a hard fall against Toronto.

Here are a few more notes from the Western Conference:

  • Mavericks center Kai Jones had an impressive block on Franz Wagner in the first quarter of Thursday’s game in Orlando and immediately followed it up with an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Naji Marshall (Twitter video link via Christian Clark of The Athletic). Unfortunately, Jones was unable to brace himself after the dunk and had a scary-looking fall, with all of his weight landing on his left hip. The Mavericks later ruled him out for the remainder of the contest with a left hip contusion (Twitter link). Jones, who is on a two-way deal with Dallas, has started each of his past four games and played well over that span. He recently missed seven games with a left quad strain.
  • Veteran guard Elfrid Payton, who is on a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, shined in Monday’s victory over Philadelphia, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. The Louisiana native finished with six points, six rebounds, 14 assists and was plus-14 in 25 minutes off the bench. “It felt good,” Payton said. “Felt like I was at home again. I love being here. This is the best thing ever.”
  • Star guard Donovan Mitchell recently returned to Utah to face the Jazz for just the second time since he was traded to Cleveland in the 2022 offseason. While in town, he reflected on his Jazz tenure, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscriber link). “I think we had our opportunity. We had a lot of windows. I think we had our opportunity, we just missed it,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s just one of those things, we had plenty of opportunities to get things done. We had injuries that one year. The last year we were together, you know, we just didn’t capitalize. Sometimes you just miss your window. I talk about it with my friends a lot, we’re comparing this team we have now versus the first place team we had here (in Utah). I’ve gotten to a point that is like, ‘It’s okay,‘ We did a lot of positive things.”
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Warriors’ Gary Payton II Has Thumb Injury, Out Indefinitely

March 27th, 2025 at 3:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

3:41 pm: The Warriors have put out an official statement on Payton, announcing that he has a partial tear of a ligament in his left thumb and will be reevaluated in one week (Twitter link).

12:33 pm: Warriors guard Gary Payton II has a torn ligament in his left thumb and will be out indefinitely, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. Anthony Slater of The Athletic was the first to report that Payton had a thumb injury (Twitter link).

The Warriors will have to make do without a key part of their rotation as the postseason approaches. They’re currently tied with the Clippers for the sixth-best record in the Western Conference with a 41-31 record. The Timberwolves are lurking right behind with a 41-32 mark.

The top six teams automatically qualify for the first round in the playoffs while the next four teams in the standings have to fight through the play-in tournament.

Payton’s workload has steadily increased down the stretch. He’s averaging 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 21 minutes per game this month. Overall, the veteran guard has appeared in 58 games — his highest total since the 2021/22 season — with averages of 6.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 steals in 14.9 minutes per game.

Payton, 32, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Without him, the Warriors will likely lean more on Gui Santos and Pat Spencer. Regardless, his overall contributions will be tough to replace.

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And-Ones: Award Races, Summer Flight Risks, BRI, RFAs

March 27th, 2025 at 7:28am CST by Luke Adams

As we relayed on Wednesday, Warriors forward Draymond Green took over this week as the new betting favorite for Defensive Player of the Year honors, surpassing Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley.

Mobley’s teammates and head coach disagree that Green should be considered the frontrunner and Zach Harper of The Athletic sides with the Cavs’ contingent, placing Mobley ahead of Green (and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels) on his hypothetical ballot in his latest look at this season’s award races.

With just over two weeks left in the 2024/25 season, Harper currently has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of Nikola Jokic in the MVP race, Stephon Castle ahead of Jaylen Wells for Rookie of the Year, Payton Pritchard ahead of Malik Beasley for Sixth Man of the Year, Kenny Atkinson over J.B. Bickerstaff for Coach of the Year, and Cade Cunningham over Mobley for Most Improved Player.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report runs through all 30 NBA teams and predicts their most likely flight risk in 2025 free agency. In some cases – like Seth Curry in Charlotte or Dalano Banton in Portland – the player in question has a relatively modest role, but others – such as Ty Jerome in Cleveland or Russell Westbrook in Denver – have been important contributors. Of course, a handful of clubs have stars or high-level starters to worry about, including Indiana with Myles Turner and the Clippers with James Harden.
  • In a free article for his Substack, Pincus shares some highlights from the NBA’s recent memo to teams, including the fact that players – who have 10% of their salaries put into escrow each season – are only on track to get a very small percentage of that money back in order to balance the basketball-related income split between players and teams. In other words, Pincus writes, a player with a $10MM cap hit for 2024/25, is only projected to actually earn about $9.1MM.
  • What sort of contracts will this season’s restricted free agents sign? Keith Smith of Spotrac digs into that question, making predictions ranging from nine-figure deals for Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, and Sixers wing Quentin Grimes to minimum-salary contracts (and no qualifying offers) for players like Pacers center Isaiah Jackson and Nets wing Ziaire Williams.
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Warriors Notes: Butler, Green, Curry, Wiggins

March 25th, 2025 at 5:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler initially wanted to go to Phoenix when he requested a trade from the Heat. Butler said he had nothing against the Warriors organization but was more familiar with the Suns’ core players — Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Tyus Jones, his former teammate.

Butler wasn’t worried about getting an extension — he knew he’d get that once the blockbuster deal was finalized. Butler received a two-year, $111MM extension.

“I wasn’t skeptical of coming here,” Butler told Anthony Slater of The Athletic in a wide-ranging interview. “I just didn’t talk to anybody. … I knew I was going to get this contract no matter what. The people keep talking about it being about the money. How can it be about the money when any team that traded for me, what were they going to do? I just want to win. Where can I go to win?”

Butler has been impressed by the Warriors’ player-friendly approach.

“It’s all about whatever you need,” Butler said. “You would think that every organization is like that: Whatever you need to make you happy, to make you healthy and to make you go out there and compete at an extremely high level. You need your days off. You need the chef. You need the driver. You need to work out. You need the rest. You need your family to travel. How can we keep you happy? How can we get you everything you possibly need to be successful and help us get a banner and a trophy?”

We have more on the Warriors:

  • Butler and Draymond Green have quickly forged a bond, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN reports. While they’re two of the more volatile players in the league, Butler says there’s no concerns about them pulling the team apart. “Two winners that would do anything to win,” Butler said. “He could care less about personal success. He’s just trying to win a championship. I just want to win. I don’t give a (bleep) about nothing else. We ain’t going to never butt no (bleeping) heads. … That’s what people keep overlooking. They think like we going to get in fist fights. No we not. Because all we want to do is win.”
  • Stephen Curry won’t play tonight in Miami, Slater tweets. Curry worked out on Monday and didn’t quite feel ready to return from his pelvic injury. He suffered a contusion while taking a hard fall against Toronto on Thursday. The Warriors will have two days off prior to Friday’s game in New Orleans.
  • While Butler going to back to Miami is the big storyline tonight, Andrew Wiggins will also be facing his former teammates after winning a title with Golden State. His former coach is eager to see him. “We’re all thrilled to see Wiggs,” Steve Kerr said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “Wiggs is one of my favorite guys. I wish we still had [to play] Miami in the Bay. So that will have to wait until next year. But Wiggs will get an enormous standing ovation when he returns to the Bay in front of our fans, both for his contributions and just for his humanity, who he is, what kind of person he is. He’s beloved in our locker room and throughout the Bay.”
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Contract Details: I. Jones, Bradley, Knox, Warriors

March 24th, 2025 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The two-year deal that Isaac Jones signed with the Kings when he was promoted from his two-way contract over the weekend is a minimum-salary agreement that will pay him $152,957 for the rest of this season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.

The second year of Jones’ contract is a minimum-salary team option that would be worth $1,955,377 if it’s exercised.

Picking up that option in June is one path Sacramento could take if the team decides it wants to keep the rookie forward/center around beyond this season. The other would be to decline the option and then issue Jones a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent — in that scenario, the club could attempt to negotiate a longer-term contract with him.

Here are more details on some recently signed contracts:

  • Tony Bradley‘s new minimum-salary standard contract with the Pacers isn’t just a rest-of-season arrangement. It includes a 2025/26 team option worth $2,940,876. By tacking on an extra year to that deal, Indiana will carry a ’24/25 cap hit of $330,394 for Bradley. If the center had signed a one-year contract, that cap charge would’ve been $263,939, with the NBA reimbursing the Pacers for the remainder of his $330,394 salary.
  • Kevin Knox‘s standard contract with the Warriors is a one-year, minimum-salary contract. That means Knox’s cap hit is just $263,939, though his salary is $330,394. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • After officially signing Knox, the Warriors remain below their first-apron hard cap by approximately $257K. A rest-of-season minimum-salary contract signed on Monday would carry a cap hit of $251,942, so Golden State could technically add a 15th man to its roster at any time between now and the end of the season. However, there’s probably no rush to do so quite yet.
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