Pelicans' Jrue Holiday named Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year

On Tuesday, the NBA announced that New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday has been voted the 2019-20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year. 

Per the Association, the award goes to "the 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 commitment and dedication to team." 

Over 250 of Holiday's peers voted for this year's honor that is annually decided by player votes. Holiday received 53 of 267 first-place votes and 1,041 total points to finish above Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris (806 points) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Korver (796 points).

Before the NBA resumption that occurred at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., Holiday and his wife Lauren, a former United States Women's National Team soccer player, dedicated the game checks he received while competing in the bubble site to starting a social justice fund meant to support institutions such as Black-owned businesses and historically Black colleges and universities.

"Honestly when it came down to it, it was me and my wife talking about what we could do to kind of further this movement and progression and being able to help out our community and just being able to help," Holiday told ESPN back in mid-July.

"We were just kind of sitting in the house, in the bed, thinking about it, and my wife said, 'I think you should do this and you should do the rest of your salary.' That's a great idea. Because we want to make an impact. God has blessed us with so much. We know a couple of things that are important are time and money, and right now, we have both. To be able to give away our money to help further this movement and Black-owned businesses that have taken a hit in COVID-19, to us, it felt like the perfect time and opportunity."

The award is named after Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, teammates on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955-58. In the final game of their last season together, Stokes suffered a brain injury that eventually left him paralyzed. Twyman supported Stokes for the rest of Stokes' life and even became the legal guardian of his teammate.