Boston Celtics guard Derrick White has been named the recipient of the 2025–26 NBA Sportsmanship Award. This is the first time in his nine-year NBA career that White takes home the Joe Dumars Trophy.
The recognition makes it back-to-back seasons with a Celtics player winning the award, following Jrue Holiday, who earned it last year. Holiday has won it twice overall, while Mike Conley leads among active players with four total wins.
The winner is chosen through a voting process involving current NBA players, who select from six finalists representing each division. Those finalists are originally picked by a group of league executives from a pool of 30 nominees, with each team submitting one player.
The Joe Dumars Trophy has been awarded every season since 1995–96. It recognizes the player who best demonstrates respect, fairness, and integrity on the court, and it is named after Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, who won the very first award and spent his entire 14-year career with the Detroit Pistons.
White’s résumé adds extra weight to the honor. He has been selected twice to the NBA All-Defensive Team, won an NBA title with Boston during the 2023–24 season, and also earned a gold medal representing the USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Derrick White Wins 2025-26 NBA Sportsmanship Award https://t.co/pqgIHy1nqE
— RealGM (@RealGM) April 23, 2026
