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NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

April 2nd, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced the 2023/24 finalists for a pair of awards on Tuesday, 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 for Teammate of the Year honors.

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):

None of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award have earned the honor in the past, so the 2023/24 winner will be a first-timer. Mike Conley won the award last year for a record fourth time.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2023/24. 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.

Like Conley with the Sportsmanship Award, last season’s Teammate of the Year – Jrue Holiday – has the record for most times winning the award (three), but isn’t among the finalists for 2023/24. Of this season’s 12 finalists, the only one to take home the award in the past is Conley, who claimed it in 2019.

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

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Nuggets Notes: Caldwell-Pope, Murray, Porter, Jokic

March 22nd, 2024 at 1:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be the Nuggets‘ top priority this summer, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Caldwell-Pope has a $15.4MM player option for next season, and there will be a “robust” market awaiting him if he decides to opt out, league sources tell Durando.

“It gets hard not to think about it,” Caldwell-Pope said. “But right now to me, it’s just trying to get to the playoffs, trying to win another championship, whether I have a player option or not. That’s the least of my worries. It’s just trying to play high-level basketball, whoever that may be with.”

The 31-year-old shooting guard was a valuable component to last season’s championship team because of his ability to match up with elite wing scorers. He’s also shooting 40.9% from three-point range since coming to Denver, providing a needed floor spacer around Nikola Jokic.

Durando notes that the Nuggets will be motivated to keep Caldwell-Pope after losing Bruce Brown in free agency last year, but there are financial ramifications to a new contract. Denver is currently within $4.7MM of the second tax apron, and a hefty salary boost for KCP would likely subject them to those provisions next season.

There’s more from Denver:

  • Jamal Murray left Thursday’s game in the final minute after appearing to hurt his leg on an awkward landing, but it doesn’t seem to be serious, Durando adds in a separate story. “Just turned his ankle a little bit,” coach Michael Malone said.
  • Michael Porter Jr. set a franchise record for most three-pointers in a season Thursday night, topping the mark of 192 formerly held by Dale Ellis, per Ryan McFadden of The Denver Post. “Even when (Porter) is not hot, it seems like he is going to make every shot,” Caldwell-Pope said. “For him to continue to shoot with that confidence is great for him and us.”
  • Jokic remains a clear favorite for MVP honors, according to Michael C. Wright of NBA.com. Jokic tightened his grip on the top spot in the MVP race by following up Tuesday’s 35-point, 16-rebound performance at Minnesota with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists Thursday against New York.
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Nuggets Notes: Winning Streak, KCP, Key, Top Seed, Lakers

March 3rd, 2024 at 9:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets have won six straight, reminding the league that the championship still runs through Denver, The Athletic’s Tony Jones writes.

The development of Peyton Watson and Christian Braun has supplemented Denver’s starting five after the Nuggets lost some key reserves during the offseason.

Denver put away the Lakers 124-114 on Saturday night with Nikola Jokic recording 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” coach Michael Malone said. “We know that we have to play well, especially at this time of the year. We lost three in a row going into the break, and I’m just impressed at our mindset coming into the second half of the season. We got up for Washington. We got up for Portland and Golden State and so on. We’re playing the right way this time of year, and our guys are locked in, regardless of the opponent.”

We have more on the Nuggets:

  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and two-way player Braxton Key were both away from the team Saturday due to personal reasons, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.  Both players are expected to return before the team’s next game on Tuesday against the Suns.
  • Caldwell-Pope told Durando that Nuggets want to be the No. 1 seed, but as Durando writes, that may not be a great spot come playoff time. Jokic notes they could draw a traditional powerhouse in the first round. “Nobody wants the Lakers in the first round or Golden State in the first round,” Jokic said.
  • The Nuggets have faced the Lakers during some special nights this season, Durando tweets. They beat the Lakers on opening night in a rematch of the Western Conference finals. They also matched up the night Kobe Bryant‘s statue was unveiled and, on Saturday, when LeBron James scored his 40,000th career point. “It’s weird,” Jamal Murray said. “Every time there’s some night in L.A., we’ve gotta play them, you know? Like, first game of the season, revenge game? We play them. Mamba Night? We play them. LeBron night? We play them. It’s like, man, give them somebody else.”
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Fischer’s Latest: Hield, Sixers, George, Pacers, Trae, Murray, More

February 9th, 2024 at 7:08am CST by Luke Adams

Buddy Hield rejected a “significant” extension offer from Indiana in the fall, and with a lucrative new deal for Pascal Siakam to account for, the Pacers’ ability to retain Hield as a free agent this offseason was in doubt, which is why they sent him to the Sixers on Thursday, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Philadelphia, which doesn’t currently have any guaranteed money on its books beyond 2023/24 besides Joel Embiid‘s contract, is much better positioned to retain Hield, though the 76ers will likely consider many options with their projected cap room.

Echoing Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter video link), Fischer says star forward Paul George figures to be a top target for the Sixers if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Clippers in the coming weeks or months. Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who holds a player option for 2024/25, has also been mentioned as a possible Philadelphia target, per Fischer.

The Sixers wouldn’t be the only team in play for George if he reaches free agency, according to Fischer, who suggests there have been whispers that the veteran is intrigued by the possibility of returning to Indiana and teaming up with Tyrese Haliburton. Such a move would be tricky – but certainly not impossible – from a cap perspective.

Philadelphia’s offseason outlook will hinge in part on what the team’s plans are for Tobias Harris. According to Fischer, the Sixers weren’t willing to include him in a deadline deal that would have sent him to Detroit, with Pistons wings Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks going to Philly. The Pistons may be in the mix for Harris in free agency this summer, Fischer notes, adding that Hornets forward Miles Bridges is another player expected to be on Detroit’s radar.

Here are a few more post-deadline items of interest from Fischer:

  • Multiple front offices came away from their conversations with the Hawks believing that Atlanta could make star guard Trae Young available this summer, says Fischer. However, he cautions that could “prove to be wishful thinking,” since the information is coming from rival teams rather than from the Hawks themselves. If Young were to hit the trade market, the Lakers and Spurs are among the clubs widely viewed as potential fits, Fischer adds.
  • League personnel anticipate that the Lakers will resume conversations with the Hawks about Dejounte Murray in the offseason, according to Fischer, who notes that the Pelicans could revisit their Murray talks at that point too. Atlanta is known to value multiple players on New Orleans’ roster, league sources Fischer, though one of those players – Naji Marshall – will be an unrestricted free agent this July.
  • Although there were several teams open to the idea of acquiring D’Angelo Russell, many front offices viewed his $18.7MM player option for 2024/25 as having negative value, Fischer reports. That thinking, along with Russell’s strong recent play, factored into the Lakers‘ decision to hang onto him through the deadline.
  • In addition to the recently released players who will hit the free agent market shortly, center Bismack Biyombo, forward Rudy Gay, and swingman Danny Green are among the veterans who were waived earlier in 2023/24 and continue to seek new NBA homes, Fischer writes, singling out Biyombo as a player expected to generate interest.
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Nuggets Notes: Gordon, Holiday, Jackson, KCP

December 27th, 2023 at 7:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon may not be out of action long after being bitten by a dog on Christmas Day, writes Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Gordon will remain away from the team while he recovers, and Wind gets the feeling that he could be back within a couple of weeks.

The incident, which left Gordon with lacerations on his face and his right shooting hand, occurred after Monday’s game. Gordon’s teammates were informed of his condition at today’s practice.

“Right now it’s open-ended. We’re not going to put any pressure on him,” coach Michael Malone said of a potential timetable. “We need him to heal inside and out. Going through something like that is not something you come back from easily. That’s something where you have to heal from the physical, but you also have to heal from the mental and what you just went through. We want him back. We know we’re better off with him. But I want to support Aaron Gordon and make sure when he comes back, he’s ready to come back and play at the level he’s capable of.”

Gordon has appeared in 28 of Denver’s first 32 games and is averaging 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per night. He played an integral role on last season’s championship team and has helped the Nuggets rise to second in the Western Conference standings with a five-game winning streak.

“I think he’s one of the more underrated players in the league,” Malone said. “We have his back. We love him and we’re here for him. Whenever he’s able to come back, we’re going to open our arms up and embrace him.”

There’s more on the Nuggets:

  • Malone didn’t announce how his starting lineup will be affected by Gordon’s absence, but Wind speculates Michael Porter Jr. will shift to power forward and Justin Holiday will be used as a starter. Denver has gone 4-0 with that lineup in the games that Gordon has missed.
  • Reggie Jackson briefly left Monday’s game, but he’s not listed on the injury report for Thursday, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. “I fully expect him to be able to go tomorrow,” Malone said. “He was dealing with a slight injury, but it’s nothing serious.”
  • Malone was impressed by the defensive performance Kentavious Caldwell-Pope turned in against Golden State, Wind adds in a separate story. As the primary defender on Stephen Curry, Caldwell-Pope helped hold him to 18 points on a 7-of-21 shooting night. “If that guy is not considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, I don’t know who is,” Malone said. “I just have to say that because I don’t think KCP gets the respect that he deserves, to be honest.”
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Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Officiating, Second Unit, KCP

December 15th, 2023 at 6:53pm CST by Rory Maher

While Bozidar Maljkovic — the president of Serbia’s Olympic committee — previously stated that Nuggets star Nikola Jokic would represent his home country at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the reigning Finals MVP recently said he hasn’t decided yet if he’ll participate, as BasketNews.com relays.

“It’s far. Some people put words in my mouth that I said something that I didn’t. The head coach is the first to know [my commitment]. I always talk to the family and the team after the season,” Jokic told Aleksandar Zigic of RTS.

After Denver’s lengthy playoff run ended in its first championship, Jokic decided to sit out the World Cup over the summer. Despite missing the best player on the team, the Serbians took home the silver medal behind strong performances from Bogdan Bogdanovic and other teammates.

Here are a few more notes on the defending champions:

  • Jokic has been ejected from two games over the past month for arguing with officials about foul non-calls. The second incident occurred on Tuesday in Chicago, with Jokic immediately kicked out despite not having any technical fouls leading up to that point. When asked about how Jokic is officiated, head coach Michael Malone said he’s discussed it with the NBA, according to Ryan Blackburn of Mile High Sports (Twitter link). “I’ve been contacting the league and having conversations about certain plays, certain games where we don’t think he’s getting the whistle he deserves,” Malone said as a part of a larger quote.
  • The team’s bench is trending in a positive direction after some up-and-down play to open 2023/24, writes Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Second-year players Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, plus rookie Julian Strawther, “have become the backbone” of Denver’s second unit, according to Wind, who takes a closer look at the play of Braun and Watson in particular.
  • Starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sat out Thursday’s victory over Brooklyn after being placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol and will be sidelined for Saturday’s contest against Oklahoma City as well, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter links). Caldwell-Pope is shooting 40.4% from three-point range and is frequently tasked with defending the opponent’s top perimeter scorer. He’s making $14.7MM this season and holds a $15.4MM player option for ’24/25.
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Nuggets Notes: Jackson, Porter, Caldwell-Pope, Strawther

November 9th, 2023 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

When Reggie Jackson was waived by Charlotte in February and hit the buyout market, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo attempted to recruit the veteran guard to Milwaukee, sources tell Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. However, Jackson opted for Denver instead, and both he and the Nuggets are happy about how that decision worked out, as Wind writes.

Jackson didn’t play a major role for the Nuggets during the championship run in the spring, but he has been an important piece of the rotation so far this fall, particularly since Jamal Murray went down with a hamstring injury. Jackson scored 20 points, handed out six assists, and was a plus-12 in a season-high 32 minutes during Wednesday’s three-point victory over the Warriors, earning praise from head coach Michael Malone, who said the 33-year-old has been “fantastic for us.”

The Nuggets raised some eyebrows when they devoted their taxpayer mid-level exception this offseason to a player who wasn’t part of their playoff rotation, but Jackson has benefited from spending the summer in Denver and becoming more familiar with the club’s system. Malone believes Jackson “feels so much more comfortable” this season than he did down the stretch of 2022/23 — and one of the guard’s teammates agrees.

“He spent all offseason in Denver when he could have been moving all around,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “He stayed here, learned our offense, and it’s showing. It’s paying off for him.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

  • A day after exploring how the Nuggets will weather Murray’s absence, Tony Jones of The Athletic says the team showed off its “depth, hunger, and versatility” in Wednesday’s win over Golden State. Denver has matched its best start in franchise history at 8-1 and Porter’s improved defense has been an important factor in the team’s success, Jones notes. “We want Michael to get to the point where that’s the norm for him,” Malone said. “We want to get to the point where what he’s doing is no longer a surprise.”
  • Having already expressed a desire to make an All-Defensive team, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope clarified after Wednesday’s game that he actually has a loftier target in his sights. “I got one goal, man, either Defensive Player of the Year or (All-Defensive) First Team,” Caldwell-Pope said, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link). “I’m going to continue to push that envelope.”
  • It’s rare for a team to draft a player at No. 29 who is ready to immediately play rotation minutes, but the Nuggets may have achieved that feat with Julian Strawther, Wind writes for DNVR Sports. While Strawther’s 21-point night vs. New Orleans on Monday in just 19 minutes of action has been an outlier so far (he has 20 points in 52 minutes in his other six appearances), the rookie has impressed coaches and teammates for his confidence and poise.
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Jamal Murray Sidelined By Hamstring Strain

November 6th, 2023 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets will go without their backcourt star for an indefinite period.

Coach Michael Malone revealed on Monday that Jamal Murray will be sidelined for multiple games due to a right hamstring strain, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.

“We’ll kind of continue to talk to our doctors, but his injury is not a one- or two-game injury,” Malone said prior to Denver’s game against New Orleans. “That’s what I do know. This will be something that will be longer than we would like.

“… You have to have the big picture in mind and make sure we’re putting him in position to get healthy before he comes back. Because this is an injury that, if you keep having recurring hamstring injuries or soft tissue injuries, they can linger and become even worse. And that’s the one thing we do not want to happen.”

Murray suffered the strain during the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Chicago.

Without him, the Nuggets will rely on veteran Reggie Jackson, who had been serving as the team’s sixth man. Two-way player Collin Gillespie and rookie second-round draft pick Jalen Pickett could see more action at the point, while shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope may have more ball-handling responsibilities.

Rookie guard Julian Strawther will also see his minutes uptick. He had 21 points in 19 minutes in Denver’s victory over the Pelicans.

Of course, Denver also has the top passing big man in the game in Nikola Jokic.

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Northwest Notes: KCP, Porter Jr., Jazz, Thunder

November 5th, 2023 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has set a goal of making the All-Defensive Team, The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando writes.

“I feel like I’ve been snubbed a couple years from that. Or even just being mentioned,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve even been mentioned in that category, and now it’s a goal this year. I’ll make some noise, so they can’t ignore me.”

Coach Michael Malone typically assigns KCP to guard the opponent’s top guard. He already held Desmond Bane and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to poor shooting performances this season.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Speaking of the Nuggets and defense, Malone awarded Michael Porter Jr. with the team’s defensive player of the game “chain” for the way he blanketed Luka Doncic on Friday, Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com relays. “Part of it is experience,” he said. “Playing against certain players, just being out there on the floor more over the years, you naturally get better. Part of it has to do with how I feel physically. My ankle doesn’t feel 100%, but I’ve kind of figured out how I should be playing guys on defense in ISO situations. And that’s not crowding them. It’s using my length. I think it’s just something you get better with over time.”
  • The Jazz have the league’s worst half-court defense in the early going and the Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen opines that the players simply aren’t taking enough pride at that end of the floor. The Jazz allowed 123 points in just 95 Minnesota possessions on Saturday. “We’ve got way too many moments where we’re not doing a good job on the ball. We’re not doing a very good job with secondary defenders. The activity has been pretty lackluster in general,” coach Will Hardy said.
  • The Thunder assigned Ousmane Dieng, Aleksej Pokusevski and Tre Mann to the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue. According to Thunder beat writer Brett Dawson (Twitter link), the Blue held a scrimmage on Sunday and it allowed that trio to get in some five-on-five work.
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Nuggets Notes: Malone, Key, Tyson, KCP, Jokic, Murray

October 20th, 2023 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was back on the sidelines for Thursday’s preseason finale after spending some time away from the team following the death of his father. However, even during his absence, Malone didn’t stop coaching his players, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post, who writes that the veteran coach sent a text message to two-way player Braxton Key before Tuesday’s preseason game telling him to slow down on offense.

“I was just doing some things that were uncharacteristic. Trying to do a little too much at the offensive end. So I listened to him,” said Key, who responded with 14 points and 10 rebounds on Tuesday vs. the Clippers.

As Durando notes, Key wasn’t the only young Nuggets player to get a message from Malone ahead of Tuesday’s contest. Michael channeled his late father Brendan in a text he sent to rookie Hunter Tyson.

“I said don’t ever lose your confidence,” Malone recalled. “That’s something my father told me for years. Don’t let anybody take away your confidence. I said, ‘Hunter, you’re a good shooter. And I see you hesitating now, I see you tentative.’ I said, ‘If you’re open, shoot the ball. Make or miss, shoot the ball. That’s what you do.'”

Tyson, who made just 9-of-28 field goal attempts (32.1%) and 5-of-19 three-pointers (26.3%) in his first three preseason games, responded by scoring 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting (3-of-7 threes), Durando writes.

Here’s more on the defending champions:

  • Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about a variety of topics, Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope expressed confidence in the team’s depth even after the offseason departures of key role players like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. “We already know what Christian Braun can do with stepping into that role that Bruce had,” Caldwell-Pope said. “We’re still going to be great. I still feel we haven’t lost a step.”
  • Nuggets star Nikola Jokic didn’t suit up for the Serbian national team in this year’s World Cup, but Bozidar Maljkovic, the president of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, expressed confidence in an interview with Juan Jimenez of AS.com that the two-time MVP will be playing in Paris in the 2024 Olympics, per BasketNews.com.
  • Jamal Murray‘s torn ACL cost him a full regular season and two postseasons, but Jokic believes the guard has gotten to the point now where he’s even better than he was before the injury (story via TalkBasket.net). “He’s much better. Not even close. … Mature, experienced,” Jokic said. “I think just because the injury slowed him down, so he needed to read a little bit better. Maybe it sounds stupid, but the injury helped him.”
  • As part of an interview with Katie Heindl of Uproxx, Murray said he appreciates how the Nuggets’ front office has handled its business since he joined the franchise. “These guys do a good job of communicating what’s happening or what they’re thinking,” Murray said. “I just like how they treat us like human beings that have families and lives and houses and mortgages and all that stuff, you know? It’s nice to get an update every once in a while about work.”
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