<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Andrei Kirilenko doesn't know exactly what the word "sportsmanship" means. Told he was named Tuesday as a finalist for the 2004-05 NBA Sportsmanship Award, though, the Jazz forward from Russia wasn't about to argue over whether or not he deserves the honor. "I'm a nice guy," Kirilenko said with a shrug. "For four years," he added, "I don't have any technicals." The award winner is presented annually with the Joe Dumars Trophy, which honors the player who best represents ideals of sportsmanship on the court, as voted on by players from throughout the league. Kirilenko, who has a habit of shaking hands with each referee before every game, suggested his solid relationship with the refs goes a long way toward his good-guy image. "I never curse on officials," he said. "Probably (only) in my mind ? or in Russian. "Referees, they are people ? and they can make mistakes," added Kirilenko, who is out for the season with a broken wrist. "Everybody should understand that." A panel consisting of former NBA players Tom Heinsohn, Eddie Johnson, Steve Mix, Kelly Tripuka and Stu Lantz selected six divisional winners from a pool of 30 team-chosen nominees, and Kirilenko won Northwest Division honors. Other division choices are former Jazz point guard Jacque Vaughn of New Jersey, Indiana's Austin Croshere, Memphis' Shane Battier, Orlando's Grant Hill and Phoenix's Steve Nash. This year's Dumars Trophy winner will be announced later this month, after the regular season ends. Previous award recipients include Dumars in 1996, followed by Terrell Brandon, Avery Johnson, Hersey Hawkins, Eric Snow, David Robinson, Steve Smith, Ray Allen and P.J. Brown.</div> Source
