The NBA award season continued this week as All-Star Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard was voted 2020-21 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award by his peers.
This award is selected by NBA players & recognizes 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 his team. pic.twitter.com/2aQOzu9A92
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 3, 2021
The Twyman-Stokes award recognizes the one player considered the best teammate based on a combination of selfless play, leadership, mentorship, and commitment and dedication to their own team.
The other award nominees were Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana Pacers); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers); Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat); Joe Ingles (Utah Jazz); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors); Boban Marjanović (Dallas Mavericks); Paul Millsap (Denver Nuggets); Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns); Theo Pinson (New York Knicks); and Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves).
Lillard received 40 first-place votes adding up to 1,012 total points. Paul finished in second place with 1,001 points.
At this point, Dame’s off-the-court achievements are starting to rival his on the court excellence.
This season, he received the April NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente for the third time thanks his continued efforts in the Portland community. Two years ago, Lillard won the 2018-19 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his outstanding service and dedication to the community.
However, Dame continues to cement his legacy as one of the clutch superstars in the NBA averaging 28.8 points, 7.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds this season. His exploits helped lead the Trail Blazers to their eighth straight playoff appearance.
Despite losing in the first round, he gave a technicolored example of what Dame Time is by scoring 55 points in a record-setting performance in Game 5’s double-OT loss to the Denver Nuggets.
