Harrison Barnes named finalist for 2022-23 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award
Mar 30, 2023, 3:44 PM | Updated: 3:56 pm
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
After clinching the postseason for the first time in 16 seasons Wednesday, the Sacramento Kings kept winning Thursday, this time with veteran Harrison Barnes getting some flowers.
The NBA announced their finalists for the 2022-23 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award Thursday, with Kings’ forward Harrison Barnes named as a finalist. Joining Barnes are 11 other finalists, including Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
Introduced in 2013, the league named the award after former Rochester/Cinncinati Royals’ teammates Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes. The two players played together from 1955 to 1958, when Stokes’ career ended after suffering a head injury on the court. Stokes was later paralyzed from the injury, due to trauma that damaged his motor-control center. After the incident, Twyman stepped in to be Stokes’ legal guardian and advocate until the latter’s death in 1970.
“The award honors the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-the-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other players in and around the NBA, as well as commitment and dedication to the player’s team,” the league said in a statement Thursday.
💜 @hbarnes https://t.co/b5uyTN99BC
— X – Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 30, 2023
Harrison Barnes has been a staple of the Kings since being traded to Sacramento at the 2019 trade deadline. An NBA champion with the 2015 Warriors, Barnes has averaged 15.4 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game in four and a half seasons with the Kings. Averaging his lowest point total since the 2019-20 season, Barnes’ team contributions go beyond his play on-the-court.
Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks won the Twyman-Stokes award last season.
Don’t miss Harrison Barnes’ interview with Sactown Sports on The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross Friday.