By ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley received the NBA Teammate of the Year award for a second time on Wednesday, May 1.
The finalists were selected by a panel of league executives, and current NBA players voted on the winner. Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges finished second, followed by New York’s Jalen Brunson, Indiana’s T.J. McConnell and Cleveland’s Georges Niang.
The award, given annually for selfless play, on-court and off-court leadership and commitment and dedication to the team, is named after Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman, friends who played together on the Cincinnati Royals. Stokes was paralyzed after an on-court injury in 1958, and Twyman became his legal guardian and supported Stokes for the rest of his life until his death in 1970.
Conley, who’s in his 17th year in the league, first won the award with Memphis in the 2018-19 season. He has also won the NBA Sportsmanship Award a record four times.
The only other Timberwolves player to win the teammate award previously was Jamal Crawford for the 2017-18 season. Jrue Holiday, a three-time winner, is the only other player in the league to win the award multiple times.
The Timberwolves face defending champion Denver in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday.
