Celtics' Jrue Holiday wins NBA's sportsmanship award, becomes 5th player to win it more than once

Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics has won the NBA's sportsmanship award for the second time, making him the fifth player in league history to win that trophy in multiple years.

Holiday received about 34% of the first-place votes cast by nearly 400 current NBA players to decide the award winner.

Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen finished second, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving was third, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was fourth, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Dorian Finney-Smith was fifth and Orlando’s Franz Wagner was sixth.

“In my experience, some of the best competitors are those who pair a quiet confidence with humility, show respect for the competition with their own preparation and work, and have the stamina to navigate the ups and downs of a season with grit and perspective,” Celtics President Brad Stevens said. “There is no better example of this than Jrue. He is the ultimate teammate and sets a great example for those striving to compete with integrity. His game does his talking, and his impact, on and off the court, goes well beyond his game.”

Holiday joins four-time winner Mike Conley, three-time winner Grant Hill and two-time winners Jason Kidd and Kemba Walker as people to win the award more than once. Holiday will receive the Joe Dumars Trophy, named for the Basketball Hall of Famer, a two-time champion and the inaugural winner of the sportsmanship award after the 1995-96 season.

Dumars recently left his role as an NBA executive to return to his native Louisiana as executive vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Each of the NBA's 30 teams nominated one player for the sportsmanship award, and league executives narrowed that list down to six finalists — one from each division.

Holiday is also a three-time recipient of the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award and is a finalist again this season for the NBA's Social Justice Champion Award. That award has been in existence for five years; Holiday has been a finalist in three of them.

He is a two-time All-Star, two-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time All-Defensive team selection.

The sportsmanship award is the eighth award to be announced by the NBA since the end of the regular season. Golden State’s Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award and his Warriors teammate Draymond Green won the hustle award; those awards, like the sportsmanship one, are not selected by the panel of 100 global reporters and broadcasters who vote for other top NBA season honors.

Other award winners so far this season: Atlanta's Dyson Daniels won most improved player, San Antonio’s Stephon Castle won rookie of the year, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley won defensive player of the year, New York’s Jalen Brunson won clutch player of the year and Boston’s Payton Pritchard won sixth man of the year.

Awards that will be announced later in the playoffs include MVP (either Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic or Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo), coach of the year (either Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson or Houston’s Ime Udoka), plus the All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday (4) looses control of the ball against Orlando Magic's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) during the first half in game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the first half in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Maximilian Ibrahimović is moving from one club his father used to play for, and going to another.

The 19-year-old winger, the son of soccer great Zlatan Ibrahimović, joined Ajax on loan from AC Milan on Wednesday.

“It’s cool that he also played for Ajax. I am happy that I have the opportunity to play here also and to develop," Maximilian Ibrahimović said.

“I want to write my own story. I am my own person, my own player, I am here to do my own thing. And I am really looking forward to that.”

Zlatan Ibrahimović currently serves as senior adviser to Milan’s American owners — acting as the key link between them and the club’s sporting operations, including player development — and would have had a significant part in his son’s move.

Italian media reports said Ajax has paid Milan 3.5 million euros ($4 million) for the loan until the end of the season, when the Dutch club will have the option to make the deal permanent.

“We are very pleased with the arrival of Maximilian," said Marijn Beuker, Ajax's director of football. "He is a talented forward with a good sense of positioning in and around the penalty area, and he has strong goal-oriented finishing.

"He is skillful with his dribbling and, above all, has a great winner’s mentality and training attitude.”

The Swede has progressed through the youth teams at Milan but has never played for the senior team, although he was part of the squad that traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Italian Super Cup last month.

He has scored five goals in 16 matches for Milan Futuro this season.

“He will initially mainly get his playing minutes with Ajax U23 and will regularly move between Ajax U23 and the first team during the season, so that he can get used to the higher level and the intensity of Ajax 1," Beuker said.

"Maximilian is a player with a lot of potential, and we hope that in time he can become a permanent part of Ajax 1’s attack.”

Zlatan Ibrahimović played for Ajax from 2001-2005, netting 48 goals in 110 appearances and winning the Dutch league twice as well as the KNVB Cup.

The talismanic forward scored 93 goals in 163 appearances over two spells at Milan, winning two Serie A titles and the Italian Super Cup.

"Ibrahimović is just a name. I am just Maximilian," the younger Ibrahimović said. “If I cared about my name then it would be all wrong, it wouldn’t even be fun to play if I would always compare myself. I don’t even think I look like him.”

Zlatan's other son, the 17-year-old Vincent Ibrahimović, recently signed his first professional contract with Milan.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Sweden's striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Ajax Amsterdam celebrates after he scored his and his team's second goal against Olympique Lyonnaise during their Champions League match in Amsterdam Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2002. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic, file)

FILE - Former soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic stands before the Italian Super Cup semifinal soccer match between Juventus and Milan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, file)