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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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Central Notes: Cavs, Garland, Vucevic, Giannis, Bucks, Johnson

January 6th, 2025 at 6:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With a 31-4 mark, the Cavaliers are tied for the fifth-best start in league history through 35 games. However, they’re not chasing regular season records. Guard Darius Garland told Joe Vardon of The Athletic that his main focus is how well they do in the postseason.

“I really don’t think it will (ever) become important (to chase regular season history),” Garland said. “We all know what it’s like to win regular games. Our next step is to go to the Eastern Conference finals, go to the finals. I mean, the regular season is super cool, it’s like a ramp-up for what we’re trying to get to. If we’re on that pace, keep trying to win games, there’s nothing you take for granted. We’ll take it for sure, we love it, but our next step is to win playoff games.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is considered one of the most likely players to be dealt before next month’s deadline. He told Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune that he tries to ignore all the chatter. “This time of year, it’s part of it,” Vucevic said. “You can’t get caught up into that stuff. I’ve heard rumors ever since I was in Orlando. Everybody knows it and that’s just how it goes. Everybody online is going to have their opinions.”
  • Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo battled an illness recently and he says he’s still trying to regain his strength, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Think about it like a savings account. Now I’m in the minus,” he said. ” So, I’ve gotta keep building. I’ve gotta build my body, gotta get some weights, gotta get some food in me, gotta get some cardio in me to go back to the positive and be able to compete, because I’m digging myself into a hole right now.”
  • The Bucks have dropped six games to sub-.500 teams and they’re growing weary of their mediocre play, Nehm writes in the same story. “What’s not happening is we’re getting off to bad starts,” coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re not moving the ball. We’re not playing right. We’ve gotta play right. We’ve done that. We’ve gotta get back to doing it.”
  • Pacers 37-year-old big man James Johnson signed a one-year, $3.3MM veteran’s minimum contract in July that had a $750K guarantee. Johnson has only appeared in five games and Indiana would have to waive him by Tuesday to prevent the contract from being fully guaranteed. However, that’s not going to happen, according to coach Rick Carlisle. “He’s not going anywhere. We need him,” Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
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Pacers Notes: Nembhard, Siakam, Johnson

July 29th, 2024 at 6:53pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard could have waited longer before agreeing to his three-year extension worth about $59MM, Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar writes in a subscriber-only piece. In two years, Nembhard could have tested the market as an unrestricted free agent and seen if teams would have paid him to be a lead guard. However, Dopirak explains that the deal make sense for both sides.

Nembhard’s $2MM salary for 2024/25 is set to be the second-lowest on the team next season, only ahead of second-round rookie Johnny Furphy. By signing an extension now, Nembhard ensured he won’t have to earn a minimum salary in 2025/26 too, since his new deal replaced his team option for that year. His stock is also the highest it’s ever been after he averaged 14.9 points and 5.5 assists en route to a Pacers conference finals appearance.

Additionally, if staying with this group was an important factor for Nembhard, it made sense to sign now before Indiana gets too expensive. Myles Turner and T.J. McConnell are both set to become free agents next season and Bennedict Mathurin is soon to be extension-eligible.

As for the Pacers, locking up Nembhard to a deal worth just under $20MM per year could be a savvy move if the team believes in his postseason production. He looked like a legitimate lead guard in the last two games of the Celtics series, averaging 28.0 points. Immanuel Quickley could be a reference point for what Nembhard may have been able to get if the Pacers had held off, since he became a feature guard recently and earned a deal worth about $175MM. In other words, it made sense to sign Nembhard to a deal that runs through 2028 to prevent other teams from outbidding them in a couple years.

We have more from the Pacers:

  • Nembhard’s agent Todd Ramasar expects the guard to have a big summer for Team Canada in the Olympics after signing his extension, Mark Medina of Sportskeeda relays in an exclusive interview. Ramasar raved about the Pacers’ care for Nembhard through his career in the interview and stated that the trust they’ve shown in him is what led to the extension getting done now. “I think it’s good for both sides,” Ramasar said. “I think in a year or two that people are going to say it’s a bargain for the Pacers and maybe even after next season. … It takes pressure off him so he can focus purely on his game and help contribute to winning basketball with the Pacers.“
  • Ramasar is also Pascal Siakam‘s agent, and he said the two-time All-Star feels at peace this offseason after spending the last year worrying about his contract extension, according to Medina. Siakam signed a four-year extension worth $189.5MM. “There’s just a focus [on basketball this offseason],” Ramasar said. “There are no distractions.“
  • James Johnson‘s $3.3MM minimum-salary contract with the Pacers is partially guaranteed for $750K, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). The full amount would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through January 7. Johnson has served as a locker-room presence for a young Indy team over the past two seasons, appearing in 27 games for the organization.
  • It’s somewhat possible that Johnson doesn’t make the opening-day roster if the Pacers decide they want to keep reigning G League Rookie of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe and sign 2024 second-rounder Enrique Freeman. Indiana only has one open two-way roster spot and no standard 15-man spots available. However, Johnson, Kendall Brown, and James Wiseman don’t have fully guaranteed salaries.
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Pacers Re-Sign James Johnson To One-Year Deal

July 25th, 2024 at 5:46pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 25: The Pacers have officially re-signed Johnson, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JULY 24: The Pacers are bringing back James Johnson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who hears from agent Mark Bartelstein that the veteran forward has agreed to a one-year, $3.3MM deal with Indiana.

Johnson, 37, has played for 10 NBA teams since entering the league as the 16th overall pick in the 2009 draft, but he hasn’t signed with any club besides the Pacers since September 2022. He has been on and off Indiana’s roster since his initial arrival — this will be the seventh contract he has signed with the team in the last two years.

Johnson has only appeared in 27 games as a Pacer, averaging a modest 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per game during those outings. However, he’s valued within the organization for his toughness, veteran leadership, and presence in the locker room.

The minimum salary for a player with Johnson’s years of service is $3,303,771, so it’s safe to assume that’s what his contract will be worth. The Pacers will carry a cap hit of $2,087,519, with the league picking up the balance.

It’s unclear if the deal will be fully guaranteed. Last season, Johnson signed a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Pacers in December, was waived in January before it became fully guaranteed, then was brought back on a pair of two-way contracts and eventually a rest-of-season agreement.

Prior to officially signing Johnson, the Pacers are carrying 12 players on fully guaranteed salaries for 2024/25, with James Wiseman on a partially guaranteed deal and Kendall Brown on a non-guaranteed contract.

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Central Notes: Pacers, Allen, Mitchell, Garland, Grimes

May 18th, 2024 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sunday afternoon will mark the first experience with a Game 7 for most of the Pacers‘ roster, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Indiana extended the series with a convincing win in front of a home crowd Friday night, but a much different atmosphere will await the team at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks have won all three matchups.

“It’s the ultimate game,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s a great opportunity. … This team has been through a lot of new experiences over the last 3 1/2 weeks and this will be another new one. We’ll do everything possible to get them ready. In Game 7s, it comes down to compete level and how well you’re tied together.”

Dopirak notes that Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell faced each other in a Game 7 in 2019 when Toronto topped Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Myles Turner and James Johnson also have Game 7 experience, as does Aaron Nesmith, but he only played two total minutes in a pair of seventh games with Boston.

“The team that exerts the most energy and plays to exhaustion comes out on top and it’s win or go home,” McConnell said. “It’s something that I feel like every player plays for, a Game 7. Excited for the opportunity, but we have to be more dialed in than any of have ever been before. … If you’re not playing to exhaustion in this next game, why even go?”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Cavaliers may explore trade opportunities involving center Jarrett Allen this offseason, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated on his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). “I would just say that while there’s extreme interest and excitement probably from certain fanbases to go to the trade machine and work out Donovan Mitchell trades, and maybe those will be needed in a month, we’ll see,” Windhorst said. “I would think the Cavs are going to be spending more time in this next month looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades, and what that could bring.”
  • On his latest Lowe Post podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Zach Lowe speculates that the Pelicans could be among the teams with interest in Mitchell and that the Spurs might pursue Darius Garland if the Cavaliers decide to break up their backcourt. “I will be surprised if Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are both on the Cavaliers next season,” Lowe said. Which guard is more likely to land on the trade block will depend on whether or not Mitchell agrees to an extension.
  • A sprained knee limited Quentin Grimes to six games after the Pistons acquired him from New York at the trade deadline, but he should enter training camp with a chance to earn significant playing time, according to Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Grimes is eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.
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And-Ones: Postseason Awards, Fernandez, SLC Summer League, Players’ Poll

April 22nd, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA revealed the finalists for seven postseason awards on Sunday. The league will begin announcing the winners on Tuesday, the NBA’s communications department tweets.

The Most Improved Player award will be announced on Tuesday. Tyrese Maxey, Alperen Sengun and Coby White are the finalists. The Sixth Man of the Year award winner will be revealed on Wednesday, followed by the Clutch Player of the Year (Thursday) and Coach of the Year (Sunday).

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • The Nets’ hiring of Jordi Fernandez as their head coach won’t affect his status with Team Canada. Fernandez will coach their national team at the Paris Olympics, Canada Basketball tweets.
  • The Salt Lake City Summer League will take place July 8-10 at the Jazz’s Delta Center, according to a press release. The Jazz, Grizzlies, Thunder and Sixers will once again compete in the round-robin summer showcase, which precedes the Las Vegas Summer League.
  • The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Josh Robbins compiled poll results from 142 NBA players on a variety of topics. Nikola Jokic topped Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP, while Michael Jordan edged out LeBron James for Greatest Player of All Time. A majority of the players chose James Johnson as the player they’d least like to fight.
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Pacers Re-Sign James Johnson

February 8th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Following the expiration of his second 10-day contract with Indiana on Wednesday night, veteran forward James Johnson has re-signed with the Pacers, the team announced in a press release.

As expected, veteran point guard Cory Joseph was waived to open up a spot on the 15-man roster for Johnson. Indiana acquired Joseph from Golden State along with $5.68MM in cash earlier in the day.

Johnson has now signed four separate contracts with Indiana since the 2023/24 season began. He originally inked a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract on December 15, but was waived to accommodate the trade for Pascal Siakam a month later. Johnson returned to the Pacers on a pair of 10-day contracts and now that he’s ineligible to sign another 10-day pact, has finalized a rest-of-season deal with the club.

Johnson, who will turn 37 later this month, doesn’t see much action for the Pacers, having logged just 24 total minutes across five appearances so far this season. However, he’s a valued veteran presence in the locker room and brings some toughness and physicality to a relatively young team.

A prorated minimum-salary contract for Johnson will pay him $1,230,816 the rest of the way and will count toward Indiana’s cap for $777,703.

The Pacers now have a full 15-man roster, but they’re expected to open up a spot by waiving Furkan Korkmaz, who was acquired from Philadelphia on Thursday.

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James Johnson Signs Second 10-Day Contract With Pacers

January 29th, 2024 at 11:30am CST by Arthur Hill

11:30am: Johnson’s new 10-day contract is official, the Pacers announced (via Twitter).

9:26am: The Pacers will sign veteran forward James Johnson to another 10-day contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The signing was confirmed to Wojnarowski by Johnson’s agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports.

Johnson didn’t see any game action during his first 10-day deal, which expired on Sunday, but he has appeared in five games for Indiana this season with four points, four rebounds and five assists in limited playing time. He signed a standard contract with the Pacers in mid-December after they reached a buyout agreement with Daniel Theis, but was waived on January 17 when the team needed to open a roster spot to complete the Pascal Siakam trade. Johnson rejoined the team two days later upon clearing waivers.

A 15-year NBA veteran, Johnson first came to Indiana before the start of last season. He has appeared in 23 total games during that time, but has mostly served as a veteran leader in the locker room.

Once Johnson’s second 10-day contract becomes official, the Pacers will be back to a 14-man roster, giving them one opening heading into the trade deadline. Teams are limited to two 10-day deals with a player during a season, so Indiana would have to sign Johnson to another standard contract to keep him for the rest of the season.

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Pacers Sign James Johnson To 10-Day Contract

January 19th, 2024 at 5:04pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pacers have re-signed veteran forward James Johnson, but this time he’ll receive a 10-day contract instead of a rest-of-season deal, the team announced in a press release.

Indiana waived Johnson a couple days ago in order to create roster space to acquire fourth-year guard Kira Lewis, who was immediately flipped to Toronto as a salary-matching piece for two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam.

The Pacers had two open 15-man roster spots after sending out three players (Bruce Brown and Jordan Nwora were the others) for Siakam — one of those spots will be going to Johnson.

The move was expected, as Tony East of SI.com reported shortly after Johnson was released that the team planned to bring him back if he cleared waivers.

Inking Johnson to a 10-day contract will give Indiana roster flexibility in the event of more trades ahead of the February 8 deadline. As our tracker shows, the 15-year veteran is the sixth player to sign a 10-day deal this season.

Technically, the Pacers are paying Johnson twice right now, as his previous contract was guaranteed after he remained on the roster through the cut-down deadline earlier this month. The dead money cap hit for that deal is about $1.4MM.

Johnson, who has played for 10 different NBA teams, averaged 4.8 minutes per game across five appearances in 2023/24. The 36-year-old played 18 games for the Pacers last season.

His on-court contributions have been modest the past two seasons, but clearly the Pacers value Johnson’s leadership and professionalism, which is why they keep bringing him back.

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Pacers Waive James Johnson

January 17th, 2024 at 5:09pm CST by Rory Maher

As expected, the Pacers have officially waived veteran forward James Johnson, the team announced in a press release.

Indiana needed to open a roster spot to acquire Kira Lewis Jr. from New Orleans. Lewis — along with Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round picks — will then be sent to Toronto in a separate deal for Pascal Siakam.

According to Tony East of SI.com (Twitter link), the Pacers hope to re-sign Johnson, assuming he clears waivers in a couple days. After the three-for-one trade is complete, Indiana will have two open roster spots.

Interestingly, Johnson was waived as part of a blockbuster trade last year as well, but the Pacers re-signed him a few days later. It sounds like that will be the case again in 2024.

If he clears waivers and becomes an unrestricted free agent, the Pacers will owe Johnson about $2.2MM — the prorated version of the veteran’s minimum — while the team will carry a $1.4MM cap hit, according to Spotrac. The 36-year-old signed a one-year deal with Indiana last month after going unsigned over the offseason, which is why his salary is prorated.

Johnson, who has played for 10 different different NBA teams, averaged 4.8 minutes per game across five appearances in 2023/24. He played 18 games for the Pacers last season.

While he hasn’t contributed much on the court the past two seasons, the Pacers clearly value Johnson’s leadership and professionalism, which is why they keep bringing him back.

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