NEW YORK, April 25, 2008 – Grant Hill of the Phoenix Suns is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the 2007-08 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner, the NBA announced today.

Hill, a 12-year veteran and the recipient of the 2004-05 Sportsmanship Award, was one of six divisional winners which included Detroit’s Antonio McDyess, Houston’s Shane Battier, Portland’s Brandon Roy, Toronto’s Chris Bosh and Washington’s Antawn Jamison. This marks the first time that a player has received the award more than once.

The NBA will donate $25,000 on behalf of Grant Hill to HopeKids, a non-profit organization based out of Phoenix which provides ongoing events and activities along with a support community for children with cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions to send the message that hope can be a powerful medicine.

The NBA will donate $10,000 each to the divisional winners’ charities of choice: America Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts on behalf of McDyess; The Giving Fund on behalf of Battier; the Lenny Wilkens Foundation, which believes that every child deserves access to quality healthcare and the opportunity to receive a competitive education, on Roy’s behalf; The Toronto Raptors Foundation on behalf of Bosh; and Washington Sports and Entertainment Charities, Inc. to benefit local initiatives in the Washington, D.C. area on Jamison’s behalf. Read the rest of this entry »

On a night where the Suns racked up a “W” in their regular-season finale, earning a trip to San Antonio to battle the Spurs this Saturday in Game 1 of the Opening Round of the NBA Playoffs, a very different kind of victory preceded the 100-91 win over the Trail Blazers.

During pre-game festivities, Suns Ring of Honor great Dan Majerle presented the 2007-08 Majerle Hustle Award to guard Grant Hill, who now joins the ranks of teammates and recent winners Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell.

“It means a lot,” Hill told Suns.com about receiving the award. “Dan is somebody I’ve always respected as a player and as a professional. I never really looked at myself as a hustle player, but I appreciate the acknowledgment.”

Created by Suns Chairman Jerry Colangelo, the award is presented to the Suns player who most personifies the qualities of “Thunder Dan,” who, as Colangelo said at No. 9’s Ring of Honor ceremony in 2003, “gave maximum effort in every game, every practice… in everything he did.”

The winner of the award was selected based on the results of five voting categories: Suns fans, Suns players, Suns coaches, Suns employees and by Majerle himself.

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Even though he didn’t suit up for Wednesday’s win, Grant Hill still found a way to make an impact for a select group of Suns fans and more importantly, fulfill a major wish.
In conjunction with the Dream Foundation, a non-profit group that enhances the quality of life for individuals and families battling terminal illnesses, Larry Davis and his wife, Shelly and their 5-year-old son, Gibson, all got a chance to meet the Suns star after the morning shootaround.

Larry, who’s battling multiple sclerosis, got his wish of attending a Suns game and introducing his son to Hill, whom he feels is the epitome of a positive role model.
“You don’t have to be an athlete, a celebrity or any other high-profile person to be a role model,” Hill said. “We all can do that. We all can find people to look up to and strive to be like. I had role models, people who I looked up to as a kid and people I look up to now. I’m always trying to do better in life – as a parent and a human being. It’s important to have role models and it’s important to those of us who are role models to do the best we can.”

Hill presented young Gibson with a Suns backpack, a handshake and a few inspirational words.

“I was just trying to bring a smile to his face,” Hill continued, “and have it be something he’ll remember as he gets older and navigates through life.
“Like any other athlete, I’m just trying to do my part.”

Detroit’s Antonio McDyess, Houston’s Shane Battier, Phoenix’s Grant Hill, Portland’s Brandon Roy, Toronto’s Chris Bosh and Washington’s Antawn Jamison have been selected by a five-member panel of former players as divisional winners for the 2007-08 NBA Sportsmanship Award.

The NBA Sportsmanship Award, designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, is voted on by NBA players. The winner will be announced after the regular season.

The 2007-08 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner will be presented with the Joe Dumars Trophy, named after the Hall of Famer and former Detroit Pistons great who played 14 seasons in the NBA and was the recipient of the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award in 1996. The six-time All-Star was selected in honor of his distinguished and dignified career and for symbolizing the tradition the NBA wants to recognize with this award.

Former NBA players Mike Bantom, former Sun Eddie Johnson, Tom “Satch” Sanders, Kenny Smith and Steve Smith, the 2000-2001 Sportsmanship Award recipient, selected the six divisional winners from a pool of 30 team nominees. Each team nominated one of its own players for this award.

The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship — ethical behavior, fair play and integrity — in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA grassroots youth basketball program.

Following is a list of the all-time winners of the NBA Sportsmanship award:

ALL-TIME NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS

Inaugural: Joe Dumars (1996) 1996-1997: Terrell Brandon, Cleveland
1997-1998: Avery Johnson, San Antonio
1998-1999: Hersey Hawkins, Seattle
1999-2000: Eric Snow, Philadelphia
2000-2001: David Robinson, San Antonio
2001-2002: Steve Smith, San Antonio
2002-2003: Ray Allen, Seattle
2003-2004: P.J. Brown, New Orleans
2004-2005: Grant Hill, Orlando
2005-2006: Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers
2006-2007: Luol Deng, Chicago

By Mike Freeman
CBSSports.com National Columnist
His grandfather Malcolm McDonald was a longtime resident of New Orleans and a smart businessman who provided money and backbone to Dillard University, a historically black college that moved its campus to a temporary location on Poydras Street following Hurricane Katrina.
His mother, Janet Hill, was born in the Crescent City. She’s the daughter of two professional parents who insisted segregated New Orleans was no excuse for failure. She attended Wellesley to study mathematics in the late 1960s and then received her master’s degree in math education from the University of Chicago a short time later.
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By Jerry Brown
eastvalleytribune.com

Ask anyone around Grant Hill — coaches, trainers, even Suns general manager Steve Kerr — and they look at the sunny side of last Wednesday’s appendectomy, which will keep him out of action for at least two weeks.

Hill isn’t so sure. After missing so much basketball to injuries over the past seven years, every game is a gift he wants to embrace. So much so that there were nights during the first 34 games this season when he worked through pains that would have kept him out in the past in hope of playing a full season for the first time in a decade (he played 81 for the 1997-98 Pistons).

Hill said he plans to miss only “six or seven games,” meaning he could return next week during the Suns’ fourgame Eastern road trip that starts Jan. 22 in Milwaukee.
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By Stefan Swiat, Suns.com
Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill underwent successful appendectomy surgery this afternoon, the team announced. The procedure was performed by Dr. V. “Bob” Evani at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. Hill is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.
Hill underwent the surgery this afternoon at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix and is expected to miss two to three weeks. The Suns’ forward began experiencing pain on Tuesday night, according to Suns Head Coach Mike D’Antoni.
“He was sick to his stomach. He was having pain down there, and we thought it might be the flu like Raja (Bell) had,” added D’Antoni.
Hill attended this morning’s shootaround at US Airways Center, but was unable to fully participate due to the discomfort.
“His stomach cramping worsened a little bit, so he went over to the emergency room,” Suns Head Athletic Trainer Aaron Nelson told Suns.com. “We did all the tests to rule anything out and that’s what showed up.”
Renowned physician Dr. V. “Bob” Evani, the same surgeon that performed assistant coach Alvin Gentry’s identical operation last season,executed the procedure just prior to Suns tip-off.
The 35-year-old veteran is averaging 15.9 points, 4.6 boards and 3.5 assists, and had started all 34 games, his most since starting 39 straight in 1999-2000, his last season with the Detroit Pistons.

The mother of two with the angelic voice already had held a morning meeting with Santa Claus and would be shopping for presents in the afternoon.

Her husband was slated to compact his tall frame at a cafeteria table for the chicken fajita lunch with their older daughter’s kindergarten class.

But at this point, the couple convened cozily on the couch - 5-year-old Myla was at school - along with resting 4-month-old Lael and Sweetie, the family’s Maltese. The husband and wife talked about life, love, laughs and lessons when she noticed that they both were wearing jeans with silver shirts.
“I got dressed before you,” she said.

“I wore this to take Myla to school,” he retorted in the first of a few playful debates, such as how she saw his eyes slightly open - though he didn’t offer to get up - when Lael cried in the middle of the night.

More glamorous days often are the norm for the Valley’s newest celebrity couple, as Grant Hill is enjoying a career renaissance with the Suns and Tamia maintains her career as a Grammy-nominated songstress with four albums.

The real glamour is in their everyday romance. It is a bond forged out of a 1996 blind date arranged by Anita Baker. It is a bond strengthened by helping each other through scares and recoveries caused by his life-threatening staph infection after one of five ankle surgeries and her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

They put the “power” in power couple. Grant took charge of his basketball career, passing on residential roots, better money and deeper bonds to join the Suns for what has proved to be the right situation. Tamia took charge of her music career, starting her own label, Plus 1 Music Group, and working more than ever to run it.

Less than six months ago, Grant said, “Maybe we should move,” to Tamia after they had bought their “forever” home in Orlando, where he played for the Magic from 2000 to 2007. The Hills have barely stopped moving since then. He signed with the Suns in July and bought their Paradise Valley home with Tamia’s approval by video because she carried Lael until August.

“The one thing all of this - the surgeries, moving, everything - has really taught us is to be open to change,” Tamia said, with Grant adding, “I’ve noticed people move here and don’t move back.”
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By Jerry Brown

WASHINGTON — Dec. 8 Tonight against the Timberwolves, Grant Hill will play his 21st straight game for the Suns.
That might not sound like anything extraordinary. But for Hill, it will represent the longest regular-season run of health since he was a Detroit Piston eight years and a halfdozen surgeries ago.
Not only is Hill playing, but he’s playing at a level few thought they would see again. Over the past 13 games, Hill was averaging 18 points and shooting 57 percent from the floor. His 3-pointers are starting to drop (7-for-13 over the past five games) and his athleticism belies his 35-year-old birth certificate — injury history or not.
To watch Hill flash from the deep corner to the hoop on one dribble or race ahead of the pack on the fast break is becoming more and more common.
“There have been a few moments here lately when I said, ‘Wow, that’s a move I haven’t made since Detroit.’ I can’t tell you how good that feels,” Hill said after collecting 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds in front of his dad, former NFL star Calvin Hill, and about a dozen other friends and family Friday night.
Hill grew up in nearby Reston and starred at South Lake High School before moving on to Duke and the NBA.
“I wanted to keep trying, keep coming back because I really felt like this was still there. And to play with players who are so talented, unselfish and enjoy playing together, with a guy like Steve (Nash) orchestrating … even if two or three guys are off on a given night, we have the firepower to keep going. I don’t know how teams go about preparing for that.”

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By KAREN CROUSE
PHOENIX, Nov. 29 — It was a rare day off from basketball, but there was no rest for Suns forward Grant Hill. On a recent Saturday morning, Hill had seen his mother off to the airport and visited the barbershop. Now he was seated at the kitchen table, thumbing through the latest issue of Vanity Fair while cradling his crying 3-month-old daughter, Lael, in his lap.

Off in the corner, Hill’s other daughter, Myla, 5, sat in front of the computer, with the volume turned way up to drown out her squalling sister. His wife of eight years, Tamia, came to the rescue with a bottle. As he handed Lael to her, he said, “I do like the noise and the activity.” Read the rest of this entry »