NEW YORK, March 30 -- Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand, Memphis' Shane Battier, New Orleans' P.J. Brown and New Jersey's Kerry Kittles have been selected by a five-member panel of former players as divisional winners for the 2003-04 NBA Sportsmanship Award.

Battier

Brand

The NBA Sportsmanship Award, designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, will be voted on by NBA players for the first time since its inception. The winner will be announced after the regular season.

Kittles

Brown

The 2003-04 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner will be presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy, named after the former Detroit Pistons great who played 14 seasons in the NBA and was the recipient of the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award in 1996. The six-time All-Star was selected in honor of his distinguished and dignified career and for symbolizing the tradition the NBA wants to recognize with this award.

Former NBA players Walt Frazier, Mike Glenn, Tommy Heinsohn, Eddie Johnson and Gil McGregor selected the four divisional winners from a pool of 29 team nominees. Each team nominated one of its own players for this award.

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.

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

Inaugural: Joe Dumars (1996)
1996-97: Terrell Brandon, Cleveland
1997-98: Avery Johnson, San Antonio
1998-99: Hersey Hawkins, Seattle
1999-2000: Eric Snow, Philadelphia
2000-01: David Robinson, San Antonio
2001-02: Steve Smith, San Antonio
2002-03: Ray Allen, Seattle