Shane Battier of the Miami Heat and coach George Karl of the Denver Nuggets have been selected as the 2013 winners of the Magic Johnson Award and the Rudy Tomjanovich Award, respectively, which recognize excellence on the court with cooperation with the media and fans, the Pro Basketball Writers Association announced on Tuesday.
In addition, the public relations staff of the Indiana Pacers is the first two-time winner of the Brian McIntyre Award, presented to an NBA PR staff that exemplifies the standards of professionalism and excellence worthy of acclaim.
The J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, also presented by the PBWA, will be announced at a later time as part of the NBA’s postseason awards schedule.
Battier was one of 12 players nominated for the award this season, including his Miami teammates Ray Allen and LeBron James. Others nominated were Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks, Jamal Crawford and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers, Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Karl was one of seven coaches nominated, including Scott Brooks of Oklahoma City, Rick Carlisle of Dallas, Doug Collins of Philadelphia, Larry Drew of Atlanta, Lawrence Frank of Detroit and Doc Rivers of Boston. Rivers won last season, and Jerry Sloan was the inaugural winner in 2011.
In addition to the Pacers, the PR staffs from the following cities were nominated: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Golden State, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Toronto. Previous winners include the Milwaukee Bucks last season, as well as the staffs of Golden State, Portland, Toronto and Phoenix.
MAGIC JOHNSON AWARD WINNERS
2012-13 Shane Battier, Miami
2011-12 Steve Nash, Phoenix
2010-11 Kevin Durant Oklahoma City
2009-10 Chris Bosh Toronto
2008-09 Brandon Roy Portland
2007-08 Grant Hill Phoenix
2006-07 Luol Deng Chicago
2005-06 Elton Brand L.A. Clippers
2004-05 Grant Hill Orlando
2003-04 P.J. Brown New Orleans
2002-03 Ray Allen Seattle
2001-02 Steve Smith San Antonio
2000-01 David Robinson San Antonio
1999-00 Eric Snow Philadelphia
1998-99 Hersey Hawkins Seattle
1997-98 Avery Johnson San Antonio
1996-97 Terrell Brandon Cleveland
1995-96 Joe Dumars Detroit