The New Jersey Nets' Gerald Green throws down -- and snags The Social Slam Award.
The digital carpet rolled out this week for nominees of the
NBA’s inaugural social media awards. Honors were doled out for 13 categories by
hosts Rick Fox and Shaquille O’Neal, with additional entertainment coming from
SLAM magazine’s Lang Whitaker and stalwart Canadian bloggers J.E. Skeets and
Tas Melas of The Basketball Jones.
Marked by a one-hour telecast on NBATV, the official NBASMA
press release states that
nominations were dependant upon “which [moments] resonated with fans and
sparked the most social engagement this season” – meaning which plays received
the most attention on Twitter and numerous other social networking avenues.
The Los Angeles Lakers were the night’s biggest winners,
claiming “The Social MVT (Most Valuable Team)” award as Kobe Bryant received
individual recognition by winning the “#Trendsetter” and “Thumbs-Up” awards,
which both tallied mentions and likes on their respective social networks.
The Lakers did have to revisit their Feb. 12 meeting versus
Jeremy Lin, though, as the sophomore’s 38-point performance was named “Epic” by
fans voting for their favorite regular season game.
A full list of winners can be seen at the official NBA
website, and while the awards are a fun addition to The Association’s
programming, they’re also something more. They’re a watermark for social media
and how pervasive it has become to society. As athletes become increasingly
willing to share personal thoughts, daily routines and behind the scenes peeks
with fans – and as the NBA continues to be the savviest sports league in social
media – how far behind can other organizations be?
Whether it’s brilliant or merely the beginning of
equalization between national sports leagues and, say, the local Lion’s Club,
the NBA Social Media Awards are definitely one thing right now – unique.
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