NEW YORK – NBA players have selected Miami Heat forward Shane Battier as the recipient of the 2013-14 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.  A panel of NBA Legends nominated six players from each conference for the award, which recognizes the NBA player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and his commitment and dedication to his team.

Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, whose storied friendship transcended their on-court Hall of Fame accomplishments, are permanently honored with an annual NBA award in their names that recognizes the ideal teammate.  Twyman and Stokes were friends and teammates on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955 to 1958.  In the last game of the 1957-58 regular season, Stokes suffered an on-court injury that led to him falling into a coma days later, leaving him permanently paralyzed.  Diagnosed with posttraumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury that damaged his motor-control center, Stokes was supported for the rest of his life by Twyman, who became his legal guardian and advocate.

Twyman helped organize the NBA’s Maurice Stokes Memorial Basketball game, held at Kutsher’s Hotel and Country Club in Monticello, N.Y., which raised funds for Stokes’s medical care and, following his death in 1970 at age 36, for other players in need.  In 2004, after years of lobbying by Twyman, Stokes was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Twyman, who was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1983, died in 2012.

As part of its support for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, the NBA will make a $25,000 donation to The Battier Take Charge Foundation, which is dedicated to providing resources for the development and education of underserved youth and teens.

In this year’s award voting, Battier totaled 1,322 total points, including 67 first-place votes. Charlotte Hornets forward/center Al Jefferson finished second with 798 points (29 first-place votes), and Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki placed third with 784 points (28 first-place votes).

Ten points were awarded for a first-place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth; players were not allowed to vote for a player on their own team.  Along with the Battier, the finalists included Elton Brand (Atlanta Hawks), Jefferson, Mike Dunleavy (Chicago Bulls), Nowitzki, Andre Iguodala (Golden State Warriors), David West (Indiana Pacers), Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers), Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic), Channing Frye (Phoenix Suns), and Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs).

Following is a list of this year’s voting totals for the 2013-14 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.

Player, Team                                1^st        2^nd       3^rd        4^th        5^th        Points

Shane Battier, Miami                   67        53        35        26        28        1,322

Al Jefferson, Charlotte                  29        29        36        31        32        798

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas                    28        27        33        37        39        784

Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers               40        23        20        22        27        754

Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers                  36        28        25        20        12        753

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio          14        38        44        27        32        739

Channing Frye, Phoenix                24        17        16        38        15        568

Andre Iguodala, Golden State        19        18        26        28        22        552

Jameer Nelson, Orlando                16        22        22        33        23        546

Elton Brand, Atlanta                      11        26        18        15        25        452

David West, Indiana                      16        16        18        20        25        447

Mike Dunleavy, Chicago               10        13        17        13        30        345

Following is a list of past winners of the Twyman/Stokes Teammate of the Year Award:

2012-13: Chauncey Billups, L.A. Clippers

2013-14: Shane Battier, Miami 

A Pittsburgh native, Twyman’s NBA career included six All-Star Game selections and two All-NBA Second Team nods. A prolific scorer, Twyman was runner-up in the scoring race twice including 1959-60 when he averaged a career-high 31.2 points, and he retired in 1966 as the 20^th all-time leading scorer. Following his on-court career, he worked as an NBA analyst for ABC. Twyman starred at the University of Cincinnati, where he averaged 17.8 points and 13.8 rebounds.     

Also a Pittsburgh native, Stokes was one of the first African-American players to star at the collegiate and professional levels. At 6-7, 250 pounds, he possessed the talent and athleticism to play every position on the court. He led St. Francis College (Pennsylvania) to the Final Four of the 1955 National Invitation Tournament before embarking on his NBA career. The second overall selection of the 1955 NBA Draft by the Rochester Kings, Stokes won the 1955-56 Rookie of the Year Award and earned All-Star berths in each of his three NBA campaigns before suffering his career-ending injury.

A two-time NBA champion (2012, 2013), Battier was the sixth overall selection in the 2001 NBA Draft by the then Vancouver Grizzlies.  He is a 13-year NBA veteran and a two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection (2008, 2009).  Battier owns career averages of 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.9 blocks.  The Battier Take Charge Foundation seeks to encourage and inspire a new generation of potential leaders through educational opportunities and the cultivation of effective leadership skills.  Among the fundraising events for The Battier Take Charge Foundation is “South Beach Battioke” – a karaoke event featuring Battier and many of his Miami Heat teammates.

Kutsher’s is the longest running hotel in the Catskills Mountains region of New York State. An avid sports fan, owner Milton Kutsher sponsored the Maurice Stokes Benefit All-Star Game, which attracted top NBA talent. In the 1990s, the basketball exhibition spawned the Maurice Stokes/Wilt Chamberlain Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament. Red Auerbach was a regular, and Chamberlain worked at the resort as a bellhop. Additionally, boxing greats including Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson and Leon Spinks trained there. Widely recognized for its golf course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and tennis facilities, Milton Kutsher launched a Sports Academy at the resort in 1968. In 2008, it was renamed The New Kutsher’s Resort & Spa.