Dirk Nowitzki: 2017 NBA Teammate of the Year

For those who missed it last night, the first ever NBA Awards show aired on TNT with announcements of a number of different awards, league-wide. One award in particular should stick out to Dallas Mavericks fans.

For the first time in the history of the NBA, the NBA Awards show took place to honor all the winners of the various awards around the league. Some of these awards were not surprising at all, some of them were full of controversy, and a few of them were probably made up to fill the time slot given to them by TNT.

I’m not going to say which of these categories that the “Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award” fits into, so I’ll let you guess.

Although the award itself was a little surprising, the winner of the award was not at all. In a night full of big names getting big name awards, this one felt just at home in the group. Russell Westbrook, of course, won the MVP, Draymond Green as DPOY, Mike D’Antoni wins Coach of the Year, Eric Gordon wins Sixth Man, and Malcolm Brogdon is the Rookie of the Year. But, most importantly, Dirk Nowitzki is the Teammate of the Year.

This award should really shock no one as many Dallas Mavericks, both past and present, have talked on and on about just how great of a teammate Dirk Nowitzki is. The ultimate locker room guy, a workhorse in the gym every single day, and a practical joker when the time is right, Nowitzki is a fan favorite, and many players in the league are fans as well.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/879738599008215040

When it comes down to it, Nowitzki should really be a lock for this award year after year, but seeing as he only has limited years left, someone else is going to have to get a chance eventually.

One of the coolest things about this award was actually not even the award recipient but a few of the runner-ups. The race for best teammate was actually very close as Dirk finished with 1057 points, while 2nd place, Tyson Chandler, ended with 1002 points. Udonis Haslem was 3rd with 850, closely followed by Jason Terry at 4 with 837.

For those who didn’t notice, three of those four players played together in Dallas during the Championship run. Coincidence?

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Although it is not one of the big name awards or anything, it was still really cool to see Dirk Nowitzki win yet another award in his incredible NBA career. The one time best player in the league is now the best teammate in the league and no one is more deserving.