NBA to Crown Social Media MVPs for Players' Best Tweets, Selfies

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NBA to Crown Social Media MVPs for Players' Best Tweets, Selfies
Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade goof around at a team practice on Wednesday June 4, 2014. Credit: Tony Gutierrez

Sure, throwing down an amazing slam dunk may get you on SportsCenter, but creating a really funny tweet? NBA players are rewarded for that as well.

The league will begin handing out its third annual NBA Social Media Awards on Friday, the first day in a 10-day stretch where top tweets, Vine videos, and social media MVPs from around the league will be selected by fans.

[seealso slug="funny-youtube-videos-reddit"]

The NBA extended the awards over a 10-day period for the first time this year, and will hand out one award each day beginning with "Best Vine/Video" on Friday. Fans can begin voting Friday for their favorite posts from NBA players or teams, and winners will be announced online on the same site.

Categories this year include carryovers from last year, like the "LOL Award" and the "Social Rookie" award for one of the league's newcomers. This year's list also includes new categories, like the "Best Hashtag" and the "Best #TBT" (Throwback Thursday) award. The NBA is even handing out a "Selfie Award" on Saturday.

A few early nominees for this year's awards include Lakers Point Guard Steve Nash for the "LOL Award," Miami Heat star LeBron James for the "Selfie Award" (while getting a pedicure), and Timberwolves star Kevin Love for the "#TBT" award sporting some really great tights in a Peter Pan costume.

This all star game needs some defense. A lock down defender. #me— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) February 17, 2014

Last year, James and his Heat teammates took home the "OMG Award" for their locker room rendition of the Harlem Shake. The video has amassed nearly 48 million views on YouTube.

The NBA isn't the only league that gets in on social media praise. Major League Baseball also offers up social media awards at the end of its season.

NBA voting opens Friday, and will coincide with the NBA Finals, in which the San Antonio Spurs currently hold a 2-1 series lead over Miami. Game 4 will take place Thursday night in Miami.

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