Battier wins Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Miami Heat forward Shane Battier was named the winner of the NBA's Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award on Saturday.

Battier was one of 12 players nominated by a panel of NBA legends and garnered 1,322 points in a vote among current players -- 524 more than the second-place finishing Al Jefferson.

The award honors the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and his commitment and dedication to his team.

Last year, Chauncey Billups won the inaugural award, which honors the storied friendship between Hall-of-Famers Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes.

Twyman and Stokes spent three seasons as teammates on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955 to 1958. In the last game of the 1957-58 regular season, Stokes suffered an on-court injury that led to him falling into a coma days later, leaving him permanently paralyzed. Diagnosed with posttraumatic encephalopathy, a brain injury that damaged his motor-control center, Stokes was supported for the rest of his life by Twyman, who became his legal guardian and advocate.