The Celtics’ elder statesmen are up for a pair of end-of-season NBA awards.
Boston announced Wednesday that big man Al Horford and guard Jrue Holiday are among the finalists for Tyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year and the NBA Sportsmanship Award, respectively.
The 38-year-old Horford, the Celtics’ oldest player and veteran leader, also was a Teammate of the Year finalist last season, losing out to Minnesota’s Mike Conley. Teammates routinely laud Horford for his leadership and unselfishness.
“I’ve been extremely thankful and blessed to be his teammate, and I think every person that’s been Al Horford’s teammate will agree that he definitely deserves that award,” guard Derrick White said at the time.
Holiday, 34, won both awards during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks (Sportsmanship in 2021; Teammate in 2020, ’22 and ’23). He’s also a perennial contender for the All-Defensive Team (first- or second-team honors in six of the last seasons) but would need to play in all seven of the Celtics’ remaining games to qualify for that recognition this season. Holiday has appeared in 58 games, and the NBA has a 65-game requirement for its major awards.
No Celtics player has ever won Teammate of the Year or the Sportsmanship Award.
Earlier Wednesday, Celtics two-way player JD Davison was named Most Valuable Player of the G League. Between his stints in Boston, the third-year point guard ranked in the top seven among G League players in points and rebounds per game this season while starring for the Maine Celtics.