Yahoo Sports Link NEW YORK (Ticker) - All-Stars Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat, Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Elton Brand of the Los Angeles Clippers are among the candidates for the 2005-06 NBA Sportsmanship Award. O'Neal, Yao, Brand, Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, Jacque Vaughn of the New Jersey Nets and Andrei Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz were selected on Tuesday as divisional winners for the award which honors sportsmanship on the court. The six selections were made by a five-member panel of former players. The winner will be announced after the regular season. The Sportsmanship Award winner will be presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy, named after the Hall of Fame guard and president of the Detroit Pistons who was the recipient of the inaugural award in 1996. Grant Hill of the Orlando Magic won the Sportsmanship Award last season. Other winners include David Robinson, Ray Allen and P.J. Brown.
This award always struck me as a pointless. How exactly do they measure "sportsmanship"? What's the criteria? It seems like they just pick a random guy who's a good player and isn't a hothead and give him the award. And considering that Shaq leads the league in flagrant fouls, how does he get nominated for this?
Did Yao get any recognition for this award in any of the other years? Surely, if anything, he's gotten less timid and more outspoken.
Why is Shaq nominated? I'm confused, he's not sportsmanlike at all! I guess Yao will win it, because if he says any profanity, no one can understand.
I agree it doesnt make much sense for him to win it now if he hasn't won one before. The Yao Ming this year has complained much more often to the refs and even got a few technicals along the way. Anyway, like someone else has said, this is a meaningless award.
Hey, look, if Stern decides to award our big Man, that's a plus, which means recognition and might help Yao the way being refreed. Let's not whine about being awarded. That's like the worst whinning of all.
Good point; as long as an award is in acknowledgement of a positive thing, it can only be a good thing, in itself.
I did that on purpose. I don't have to miss. I believe you. So what happens now? We face each other as God intended. Sportsmanlike. No tricks, no weapons, skill against skill alone. You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try to kill each other like civilized people? I could kill you now. Frankly, I think the odds are slightly in your favor at hand fighting. It's not my fault being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise. (He flips the rock away). #################################################### Sound familiar? Someone apply the two characters to basketball players, and change the dialog to suit.
Yao sportsman finalist Yao Ming was named one of six divisional winners and a finalist for the NBA Sportsmanship Award and Joe Dumars Trophy. Yao was named on Tuesday with Luol Deng of the Bulls, Elton Brand of the Clippers, Shaquille O'Neal of the Heat, Jacque Vaughn of the Nets and Andrei Kirilenko of the Jazz. Yao, however, was surprised to be honored this season for his sportsmanship. "My technical fouls are going up year by year, so I don't know about that," said Yao, who has been assessed four technical fouls. "That's really funny. I think Rasheed Wallace should get a chance." Yao has become more demonstrative and vocal with officials in the second half of the season, a change that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said is not a problem because Yao is not excessive in his complaints. "It goes back to credibility with officials," Van Gundy said. "If you complain on every call like some players and some teams in this league, it may not be as well-received if you do it only when you feel justified. Yao really doesn't complain a whole lot, but I still don't think they listen to him like they would players with similar ability. That's a little surprising. "So many players look to yell at the officials when they get their shot blocked or struggle to get up with a phantom injury. If he actually did get hit and he has a reasonable complaint, it's absolutely correct of him to speak. I don't know if that has an impact on the Sportsmanship Award, but I don't think referees would think Yao is overly critical."
Yao finally got that: In USA being humble and polite gets you nowhere. You have to literally slab some one for an Award
