Derrick White of the Boston Celtics claimed the 2026 NBA Sportsmanship Award after leading in player votes.
Derrick White of the Boston Celtics has been named the NBA's Sportsmanship Award recipient for the 2025-26 season, based on voting from fellow players across the league. White secured 20% of the first-place votes from 386 total ballots cast. T.J. McConnell of the Indiana Pacers finished second with nearly 22% of first-place votes, while Harrison Barnes of the San Antonio Spurs and Al Horford of the Golden State Warriors tied for third with 19% each.
Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat collected 11% of first-place votes to place fifth, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder rounded out the top six with just under 10%. Gilgeous-Alexander was the only finalist to return from the previous season's list. The award winner will be presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy, which honors the Hall of Famer and two-time champion who first claimed the sportsmanship honor in 1995-96.
Every NBA team nominated one player for the sportsmanship award, and the field was trimmed to six finalists representing each division. The trophy is named after Joe Dumars, who now serves as the Pelicans' head of basketball operations. White's selection marks his first career win of this award following a strong regular season.
The sportsmanship award is the fourth major individual honor revealed since the regular season concluded. Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio became the league's youngest Defensive Player of the Year at age 22 and the first to win unanimously. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nearly matched that feat in the Clutch Player of the Year race, earning 96 of 100 possible first-place votes. Keldon Johnson of San Antonio topped Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. for Sixth Man of the Year with 63 first-place votes.
The league will announce the Most Improved Player on Friday, with candidates Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Atlanta), Deni Avdija (Portland), and Jalen Duren (Detroit). Future announcements include the MVP race featuring Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama, and Nikola Jokic (Denver), Coach of the Year with J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit), Mitch Johnson (San Antonio), and Joe Mazzulla (Boston), and Rookie of the Year candidates VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia), Cooper Flagg (Dallas), and Kon Knueppel (Charlotte).