Although the Golden State Warriors didn't have a season with much to celebrate, they received a bit of a consolation prize today with the announcement of Stephen Curry as the winner of the 2011 Joe Dumars NBA Sportsmanship Award, voted by his fellow players.
The annual award is given on the merits of sportsmanship; ethical behavior, fair play and integrity, imporant facets of the league's NBA Cares program. The trophy is named for former Detroit Pistons guard and Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the award's inaugural recipient.
Curry was one of six divisional winners, which included Charlotte's D.J. Augustin (Southeast Division), Chicago's Luol Deng (Central), New Jersey's Deron Williams (Atlantic), San Antonio's George Hill (Southwest), and Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge (Northwest). Curry won on behalf of the Pacific Division.
Voted by his fellow NBA players, Curry and his work with Habitat for Humanity East Bay was enough to give him 88 first place votes, leading the NBA to donate $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity, a group that uses volunteers to help build affordable homes in Conta Costa and Alameda counties.
Here's a look at the 2011 voting: 11 points for a first-place vote, 9 for a second-place vote, 7 points for third, 5 points for fourth, 3 points for fifth and 1 point for sixth-place.
Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Points
- Stephen Curry, Golden State: 88 69 60 54 45 31 2445
- Luol Deng, Chicago: 84 76 52 45 53 37 2393
- LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland: 56 49 66 63 62 51 2071
- George Hill, San Antonio: 42 61 68 61 71 44 2049
- D.J. Augustin, Charlotte: 27 43 66 72 63 76 1771
- Deron Williams, New Jersey: 50 49 35 52 53 108 1763
List of former recipients of the Joe Dumars Sportsmanship Award:
- 1995-96: Joe Dumars, Detroit (inaugural)
- 1996-97: Terrell Brandon, Cleveland
- 1997-98: Avery Johnson, San Antonio
- 1998-99: Hersey Hawkins, Seattle
- 1999-00: Eric Snow, Philadelphia
- 2000-01: David Robinson, San Antonio
- 2001-02: Steve Smith, San Antonio
- 2003-04: P.J. Brown, New Orleans
- 2004-05: Grant Hill, Orlando
- 2005-06: Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
- 2006-07: Luol Deng, Chicago
- 2007-08: Grant Hill, Phoenix
- 2008-09: Chauncey Billups, Denver