NBA players will be able to vote on year-end awards for the first time at the end of this season, according to an internal memo issued by Players Association executive director Michele Roberts. Known as the “Players Choice Awards,” the new set of honors will be separate from the media’s longtime awards, reports Sam Amick of USA Today.
NBA players to vote on their own awards
The players win the awards, and now they’ll get a chance to vote on them, too.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
According to memo, which was obtained by USA Today, players will cast anonymous votes and winners will be announced during summer meetings in Las Vegas. The awards will be unconnected to the various honors handed out at the end of each season by the media, a practice that’s been followed since the 1980-81 season.
“This program was created at your request to recognize outstanding performance of your peers, on and off the court,” Roberts wrote in the memo. “No one knows better than you what it takes to shine.”
The move comes after several prominent NBA stars, including 2014 MVP Kevin Durant and prime 2015 candidate Stephen Curry, voiced their displeasure with the current system. Durant was the most vocal, saying a few months ago that players, and not media members, should be the ones to decide who wins MVP, Rookie of the Year and other honors.
Now the players will get that chance. According to Amick, MVP is one of the awards that will be voted on, as well as a “Man of the Year” award likely associated with off-the-court efforts. Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post has the details on how the voting will work:
As @sam_amick first reported, NBPA to hold Players Choice Awards. Here's how it will work, per internal memo: pic.twitter.com/p3wAdtzznn
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) April 8, 2015
Considering how close many of the award races are this season, it’ll be interesting to see which players are chosen by their peers and those who cover them.
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