Awards
NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2012 ““ The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant and the Miami Heat’s LeBron James today were named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Sunday, Dec. 25, through Sunday, Jan. 1.
Durant helped the Thunder to a 5-0 start as well, averaging a Western Conference-best 27.4 points (second overall), while shooting .547 from the field and .500 from beyond the arc. Durant opened the 2011-12 campaign with four 30-plus-point performances. He recorded a double-double ““ 30 points and 11 rebounds ““ in a 104-102 win over the Mavericks Dec. 29.
James guided the Heat to a 5-0 record to start the season, including an opening-night victory over the Dallas Mavericks in a rematch of the 2011 Finals. James led the league in scoring (29.6 ppg), paced the conference in steals (2.40 spg), and averaged a team high in assists (6.6 apg). James scored 34 or more points on three occasions, including 37 in Miami’s 105-94 win at Dallas Dec. 25.
Here is a recap of the week for Durant and James:
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
*Dec. 25 vs. Orlando: Tallied 30 points, six assists and five rebounds in a 97-89 win over the Magic.
*Dec. 28 @ Memphis: Posted 32 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in a 98-95 road victory over the Grizzlies.
*Dec. 29 vs. Dallas: Recorded a 30-point, 11-rebound double-double in a 104-102 home win over the Mavericks.
LeBron James, Miami Heat
*Dec. 25 @ Dallas: Recorded 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 105-94 win at Dallas.
*Dec. 28 @ Charlotte: Tallied 35 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in a 96-95 road victory.
*Dec. 30 @ Minnesota: Recorded a 34-point, 10-assist double-double, and added eight assists and four steals in a 103-101 win at Minnesota.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Houston’s Kyle Lowry, Indiana’s Roy Hibbert, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Minnesota’s Kevin Love, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Phoenix’s Steve Nash.
Category : Blog
Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBA legend Tina Thompson will be honored by Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network during the organization’s second-annual Triumph Awards on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.
The Triumph Awards recognize those who have made a positive impact beyond their performance on stage, in the arts, in sports and in the community. The event begins at 8 p.m. ET.
“I am extremely proud, grateful and honored by this recognition,” Thompson said. “Being that this is the second-annual Triumph Awards, I am humbly honored even more so. There are so many people deserving of this award, and I was chosen? Wow! I can’t wait to dress up!”
Thompson recently completed her third season with the Sparks, and is the only player to compete in all 15 WNBA seasons dating back to the league’s inception in 1997. She is the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer with 6,751 career points, and helped lead the Houston Comets to four consecutive league championships from 1997 to 2000. An eight-time WNBA All-Star, Thompson also won gold medals while representing the United States at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. In July, she was named one of the Top-15 Players in WNBA history.
Off-the-court, Thompson has been actively involved with WNBA Cares community relations initiatives throughout her 15-year career, such as serving as an original member of the Jr. NBA/WNBA Advisory Council and conducting numerous “Basketball and Books” clinics. Most recently the Los Angeles native participated in the WNBA Cares Day of Service during the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend in February, and joined Sparks teammates for a Heal the Bay beach clean-up event in Santa Monica in August. Thompson is also the co-owner and creativity director of Blueprint Collective, LLC, a marketing and branding agency that hosts philanthropic events throughout Southern California.
Joining Thompson as this year’s Triumph Award honorees are Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry Studios, who is receiving the Chairman’s Award for Historic and Transformative Service and Chris & Malaak Rock, The Angel Rock Project, who are being honored with the President’s Award for Service and Humanitarian Efforts. Additional honorees include: Marva Smalls, Viacom/Nickelodeon, Jimmie Lee Solomon, Major League Baseball, Maurice Cox, PepsiCo, Attorney General Kamala Harris, State of California and the Honorable Judge Greg Mathis.
The evening will feature a performance by the cast of Layon Gray’s award-winning play Black Angels Over Tuskegee starring Lamman Rucker as well as a special musical performance by multi-platinum recording artist Joe. The event will be hosted by NBC News correspondent Mara Schiavocampo. The National Action Network Triumph Awards co-chairs are author and producer Tonya Lee and Paula Madison, CEO of Madison Media Management who also serves as Chairperson of the Los Angeles Sparks’ ownership group.
For more information, visit http://nationalactionnetwork.net/triumph.
UPDATE: Here are some photos of Tina accepting her award.
Category : Blog
NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2011 ““ A pair of former No. 1 overall draft picks and Rookie of the Year award winners ““ Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks ““ were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, August 15 through Sunday, August 21.
McCoughtry’s 23.7 points per game ranked second in both the WNBA and the Eastern Conference as the surging Dream, winner of 10 of its last 14 games, posted a 2-1 mark on the week. Within the conference, the 2009 Rookie of the Year also ranked third in blocks (1.3 bpg), fourth in assists (4.3 apg), fifth in rebounds (8.3 rpg) and tied for fifth in steals (2.33 spg).
For the season, McCoughtry ranks second in the league in scoring (20.4 ppg) behind Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi (21.0 ppg). Her 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest are 11th and 12th best, respectively, in the Eastern Conference.
The University of Louisville product and Baltimore native put together her best outing of the week in a 94-88 win over the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 19, when she recorded a double-double with 26 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. She sent the game into overtime when she blocked a shot by Allison Hightower on the final play of regulation and then scored a pair of key baskets in the extra period. Three days earlier, in a 84-79 road victory over Los Angeles, she scored 23 points and contributed five assists. McCoughtry closed out the week with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a loss at Connecticut.
The Player of the Week award is the third of the year for McCoughtry and the fifth of her career.
Parker, meanwhile, earned the honor for the first time this year and the fifth time in her four WNBA seasons.
For Parker, the 2008 league MVP and Rookie of the Year, the Player of the Week award capped a solid return to action after she was sidelined for 15 games due to a knee injury.
The Sparks’ center/forward tied for second in the Western Conference in scoring with 18.5 ppg while helping Los Angeles to a 2-2 mark on the week. She also ranked third in field goal percentage (.565 on 26 of 46 shooting), tied for third in three-point shooting (.667 on 8 of 12 from beyond the arc), was fourth in rebounding (8.3 rpg), and ranked among the conference leaders in minutes, averaging 32.8 mpg.
In her return to the court, the University of Tennessee product and Naperville, IL native recorded her fifth double-double of the season (15 points, 10 rebounds) in a narrow loss to the Dream. She then tallied 18 points, six boards and five assists in a 75-70 win over the East-leading Indiana Fever and another 18 points and 8 rebounds in a loss at Minnesota. Parker closed out her week by leading the Sparks past the Tulsa Shock, 73-67, with a game-high 23 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
Other candidates for WNBA Players of the Week were Chicago’s Sylvia Fowles, Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, New York’s Cappie Pondexter, Phoenix’s Penny Taylor, Seattle’s Sue Bird and Washington’s Crystal Langhorne.
Category : Blog
Congrats, Patty!
Portland Trail Blazers guard Patrick Mills has won Australia’s male international basketball player of the year award for the second time.
Mills, who also won the Gaze Medal in 2008, was the highest scorer for Australia at last year’s world championships, averaging 13.8 points and four assists a game. The award, announced Tuesday, is voted on by team members after each international game.
The award is named after the father-son duo of Lindsay and Andrew Gaze. Lindsay Gaze was a longtime national team coach while Andrew Gaze was a five-time Olympian. Andrew Gaze played a season of U.S. college basketball at Seton Hall, where his team made the 1989 NCAA finals, losing in overtime to Michigan.
Category : Blog
