NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2020 – NBA players have selected Vince Carter as the recipient of the 2019-20 NBA Sportsmanship Award, the NBA announced today.
Carter, who spent the 2019-20 season with the Atlanta Hawks, announced his retirement from the NBA in June after playing a league-record 22 seasons. He receives the Joe Dumars Trophy as the winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award. Dumars, a two-time NBA champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, played 14 NBA seasons and won the inaugural Sportsmanship Award in the 1995-96 season.
Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the NBA Sportsmanship Award, which is designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel of league executives selected one finalist from each of the NBA’s six divisions. Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of six finalists, with more than 250 players submitting their votes through confidential balloting conducted by the league office.
In addition to Carter (Southeast Division), the other finalists were Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (Northwest), Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (Pacific), Detroit Pistons guard Langston Galloway (Central), Memphis Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones (Southwest) and Brooklyn Nets guard Garrett Temple (Atlantic).
Carter received 143 of 266 first-place votes and 2,520 total points in balloting of NBA players. Temple (1,746 points) and Adams (1,632 points) finished in second and third place, respectively. The six finalists were awarded 11 points for each first-place vote, nine points for each second-place vote, seven points for each third-place vote, five points for each fourth-place vote, three points for each fifth-place vote and one point for each sixth-place vote.
During his 22-year career, Carter earned eight NBA All-Star selections, was named to the All-NBA Team twice and won the 1998-99 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He also received the 2015-16 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, which honors selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.
Carter, 43, has played the third-most games in NBA history (1,541) and is the only player to appear in a game in four different decades. He ranks 19th on the NBA’s all-time points list (25,728) and sixth in three-pointers made (2,290).
Below are the voting totals for the 2019-20 NBA Sportsmanship Award and the all-time list of winners.
VOTING RESULTS: 2019-20 NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
| Player (Team) | 1st Place Votes (11 PTS) | 2nd Place Votes (9 PTS) | 3rd Place Votes (7 PTS) | 4th Place Votes (5 PTS) | 5th Place Votes (3 PTS) | 6th Place Votes (1 PT) | Total Points |
| Vince Carter (Atlanta) | 143 | 70 | 34 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 2,520 |
| Garrett Temple (Brooklyn) | 22 | 78 | 63 | 52 | 25 | 26 | 1,746 |
| Steven Adams (Oklahoma City) | 34 | 57 | 41 | 52 | 58 | 24 | 1,632 |
| Harrison Barnes (Sacramento) | 24 | 25 | 75 | 48 | 35 | 59 | 1,418 |
| Langston Galloway (Detroit) | 23 | 22 | 29 | 60 | 79 | 53 | 1,244 |
| Tyus Jones (Memphis) | 20 | 14 | 24 | 41 | 65 | 102 | 1,016 |
NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
1995-96 – Joe Dumars, Detroit
1996-97 – Terrell Brandon, Cleveland
1997-98 – Avery Johnson, San Antonio
1998-99 – Hersey Hawkins, Seattle
1999-00 – Eric Snow, Philadelphia
2000-01 – David Robinson, San Antonio
2001-02 – Steve Smith, San Antonio
2002-03 – Ray Allen, Seattle
2003-04 – P.J. Brown, New Orleans
2004-05 – Grant Hill, Orlando
2005-06 – Elton Brand, LA Clippers
2006-07 – Luol Deng, Chicago
2007-08 – Grant Hill, Phoenix
2008-09 – Chauncey Billups, Denver
2009-10 – Grant Hill, Phoenix
2010-11 – Stephen Curry, Golden State
2011-12 – Jason Kidd, Dallas
2012-13 – Jason Kidd, New York
2013-14 – Mike Conley, Memphis
2014-15 – Kyle Korver, Atlanta
2015-16 – Mike Conley, Memphis
2016-17 – Kemba Walker, Charlotte
2017-18 – Kemba Walker, Charlotte
2018-19 – Mike Conley, Memphis
2019-20 – Vince Carter, Atlanta
