Earlier this year, the NBA Players’ Association announced that it would be handing out its own awards this summer, to be voted on by the active players in the League. It’s an idea mean to give a voice back to the players, who don’t get to vote on official NBA-sanctioned awards like MVP, Rookie of the Year, etc.
Recently, the NBPA revealed the list of awards to be given out, which include categories like Hardest to Guard and Player You Secretly Wish Was on Your Team.
Called the “Basketball Player Awards,” the NBPA’s event will take place next month in Las Vegas—the idea being that this event would be like the Grammys or the Emmys. And today it was announced that the brand new event will be televised on BET Networks.
From Deadline:
BET Networks is partnering with the National Basketball Players Association to air the 1st Annual Basketball Player Awards, voted on by NBA’s active players.
The awards will tape in Las Vegas on July 10 to air exclusively on BET Networks. BET Productions and Prospect Park are producing. Awards will be presented in 10 categories, including Most Valuable Player, Best Rookie, Man of the Year, and Player You Secretly Wish Was On Your Team.
“BET has established itself as a best in class presenter of Awards shows and special events and we are thrilled that we’ll be working with the National Basketball Players Association to bring what will be a an incredible night of entertainment”, said Stephen G. Hill, President of Programming, BET Networks. “This will be a unique show and we are looking forward to being the only network to dedicate a night to recognizing and celebrating the league’s most exceptional and rising stars for their extraordinary abilities on the court”.
“We are delighted to have BET as our broadcasting partner for the first ever ‘Players’ Awards’ next month,” said NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts. “BET is best-in-class when it comes to award shows, and we are happy that they will be producing this event for the best players in the world”.
The awards come on the heels of the NBA Finals which saw the Golden State Warriors take the NBA crown over the Cleveland Cavaliers, and record ratings for ABC, with the Game 6 clincher the most-watched ever on the network since it began the airing the finals in 2003.
