Curtis Stinson of the Iowa Energy today was named the NBA Development League’s Most Valuable Player, as voted on by the NBA D-League’s 16 head coaches.
Stinson, a 6-3, 215-pound guard out of Iowa State, started in 48 of Iowa’s regular season games, averaging 19.3 points, 9.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 42.9 minutes. Stinson led the NBA D-League this season in assists, minutes, triple-doubles (five) and double-doubles (28), leading Iowa to the Eastern Conference title with a 37-13 regular season record, the best in the NBA D-League.
“It’s a real honor to be named MVP of the D-League,” Stinson said. “There are a lot of great players in this league, and to receive this award is one of the highlights of my career. I am truly thankful to have great teammates and coaches, and I appreciate all they have done to help me earn this recognition.”
Stinson was named to the All-NBA Development League First Team last week, becoming just the third player in league history to earn back-to-back All-NBA D-League First Team selections. Stinson was named the NBA D-League’s Player of the Month in March, Co-Player of the Month for February and Performer of the Week on Jan. 24. He carried the Energy to the No. 1 seed in the NBA D-League Playoffs and a berth in the semifinals despite having teammates Othyus Jeffers and Marqus Blakely earn Call-Ups to the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets, respectively. In Iowa’s four postseason games thus far, Stinson has averaged 32.3 points, 9.9 assists and 7.7 rebounds.
“Curtis has been the backbone of the Iowa Energy now for three seasons,” said Iowa head coach Nick Nurse. “He has a tremendous will to win games and lead the team. He has a very high level of understanding of the game of basketball, and his ability to execute that under pressure is what makes him the player he is. It has been a great pleasure to watch him evolve, mature and continue to improve as a player. I hope one day he gets to put on an NBA jersey.”
Stinson achieved several milestones this season, becoming the NBA D-League’s all-time leader in assists (1,668), steals (334), field goals made (1,226) and minutes (7,827), and moved into third place on the all-time scoring list (3,038).
“The season Curtis put together for Iowa was the culmination of his talent with years of hard work, dedication and commitment,” said Chris Alpert, Vice President of Basketball Operations and Player Personnel for the NBA D-League. “Curtis showed remarkable durability this season as Iowa’s leader on the floor every night, and also displayed a versatile set of skills that few players possess. As Curtis emerged as this season’s MVP, he also solidified his position as one of the top players in NBA Development League history. I congratulate Curtis on his recognition, which is very well deserved.”
Stinson joins Mike Harris (Rio Grande Valley, 2010), Courtney Sims (Iowa, 2009), Kasib Powell (Sioux Falls, 2008), Randy Livingston (Idaho, 2007) Marcus Fizer (Austin, 2006), Charlotte Bobcats guard Matt Carroll (Roanoke, 2005), Tierre Brown (Charleston, 2004), Devin Brown (Fayetteville, 2003) and Ansu Sesay (Greenville, 2002) as winners of the MVP award.
