Well, this is no surprise. Today, the NBA announced that Jeremy Lin was one of six players named as a divisional winners for the 2011-12 NBA Sportsmanship Award, which honors players who best represent the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. Here's the NBA's press release:
NEW YORK, April 16, 2012 - Cleveland's Antawn Jamison, Dallas' Jason Kidd, the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul, Miami's Shane Battier, Minnesota's Luke Ridnour and New York's Jeremy Lin were selected by a five-member panel of former players as divisional winners for the 2011-12 NBA Sportsmanship Award.The winner will be determined by vote, and will be announced after the regular season. Do you think Jeremy has a good shot of winning?
The NBA Sportsmanship Award, designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, is voted on by NBA players. The NBA will announce the winner after the regular season.
The 2011-12 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner will be presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy, named after the Hall of Famer and former Detroit Pistons great who played 14 seasons in the NBA and was the recipient of the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award in 1996. The six-time All-Star was selected in honor of his distinguished and dignified career and for symbolizing the tradition the NBA wants to recognize with this award.
Former NBA players Greg Anthony, John Crotty, Antonio Davis, Eddie Johnson and Kenny Smith selected the six divisional winners from a pool of 30 team nominees. Each team nominated one of its players for this award.
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.