Shaquille ONeal Wins Southeast Divisional Sportsmanship Award

The 2005-06 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner will be presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy, named after the former Detroit Piston who played 14 seasons in the NBA and was the recipient of the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award in 1996.

A panel of five former players, John Crotty, John Celestand, Eddie Johnson, Steve Mix and Kenny Smith, selected the six divisional winners from a pool of team nominees. O’Neal won the Southeast Division honor while other finalists include Jacque Vaughn representing the Atlantic Division, Luol Deng representing the Central Division, Andrei Kirilenko representing the Northwest Division, Yao Ming representing the Southwest Division and Elton Brand representing the Pacific Division.

The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship -- ethical behavior, fair play and integrity -- in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA grassroots youth basketball program.

O’Neal is the second HEAT player to win the divisional honor in the franchise’s history. LaPhonso Ellis previously won the Atlantic Division honor for the HEAT during the 2001-02 season.

This year’s NBA Sportsmanship Award winner will be announced after the regular season.

Following is a list of the all-time winners of the NBA Sportsmanship Award:

Inaugural – Joe Dumars (1996)

1996-1997: Terrell Brandon, Cleveland

1997-1998: Avery Johnson, San Antonio

1998-1999: Hersey Hawkins, Seattle

1999-2000: Eric Snow, Philadelphia

2000-2001: David Robinson, San Antonio

2001-2002: Steve Smith, San Antonio

2002-2003: Ray Allen, Seattle

2003-2004: P.J. Brown, New Orleans

2004-2005: Grant Hill, Orlando