Jason Kidd is one of the most well-respected athletes in the NBA.
The way Jason conducts himself on the court is second to none and his peers have taken notice. On Thursday he was named the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy, awarded to the NBA Sportsman of the Year.
"It’s a great honor when you talk about Joe Dumars and the career he had in the NBA, so I’m very honored to accept this award," Jason said. "Being a good sportsman is about being able to help my teammates, the opponents and sometimes even the officials."
One of the most well-respected in the NBA , Jason was voted by his peers as the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy (Getty Images).
According to the NBA release, "the annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship — ethical behavior, fair play and integrity — in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s NBA Cares program efforts."
The award is named for Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame Detroit Pistons guard who first received the honor following the 1995-96 season. Former NBA players Greg Anthony, John Crotty, Antonio Davis, Eddie Johnson and Kenny Smith selected six divisional winners for the 2011-2012 award from a pool of 30 team nominees.
Jason was the Southwest winner, joined on the ballot by Cleveland’s Antawn Jamison, the Clippers’ Chris Paul, Miami’s Shane Battier, Minnesota’s Luke Ridnour and New York’s Jeremy Lin on the ballot. The winner was selected by a voting of 334 NBA players. J-Kidd received 93 first-place votes (2,501 total points) to win the trophy.
Along with the trophy, the NBA will make a $10,000 donation to The Jason Kidd Foundation. To find out more about Jason’s charitable efforts through his foundation, visit JasonKiddFoundation.com.
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