The Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award recognizes the player who it's determined best demonstrated selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and a commitment and dedication to the team.
At the Auerbach Center following Wednesday's shoot-around ahead of Game 5 between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, Derrick White, discussing why Al Horford deserves to win the honor, voiced, "Just a guy that doesn't care about himself — cares about others and is always reaching out to help other people… every person that's been Al Horford's teammate would know he deserves that award."
A panel of league executives selected 12 finalists (six from each conference), which included Horford. Current NBA players then chose the winner.
They landed on Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley. He previously earned this accolade for the 2018-19 campaign.
Horford finished in sixth, garnering 21 first-place votes and 634 total tallies. Conley received 1,172 votes.
In a Celtics season built on sacrificing to maximize having the most talented top six in the NBA, the six-foot-nine center has willingly slid to the second unit and not allowed being out of the closing lineup to faze him.
Entering the current campaign, the former Florida Gator played 1,180 NBA games, starting all but 12. But he adapted to an unfamiliar role, anchoring Boston's bench and averaging 8.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and a block per game. He also drilled 41.9% of the 4.0 threes he hoisted.
In the playoffs, he's producing eight points and 7.3 rebounds per contest while taking 3.3 threes and converting them at a 38.5% clip.
The Celtics will lean on the 16-year veteran even more now, with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined due to a soleus strain in his right calf, an injury he sustained late in the first half of Boston's 102-88 win over the Heat in Game 4, pushing Miami to the brink of elimination.
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