Surprise Trail Blazers Rookie Earns Maurice Lucas Award in Debut Season

He's already making quite an impression on his colleagues and coaches.

Mar 22, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; LA Clippers forward Paul George drives to the basket against Trail BLazers forward Toumani Camara and center Duop Reath. / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Relatively unheralded Portland Trail Blazers rookie small forward Toumani Camara has been honored with the club's Maurice Lucas Award for the 2023-24 NBA season, an accolade designated for the player who best embodies the spirit of that Trail Blazers legend.

“Toumani embodies high character and unabashed toughness on and off the court that Rip City has come to love,” Portland GM Joe Cronin said in a statement, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “We are proud to name Toumani the recipient of the Maurice Lucas Award this season as he has only just begun to make his bigger-than-life impact on the Portland community.”

As a reward for receiving the honor, Portland is set to donate $5,000 to whichever nonprofit Camara earmarks. Fentress notes that Camara has already been pretty involved in several charitable projects.

The 6-foot-7 wing, wasselected with the No. 52 pick out of Dayton in the 2023 draft by the Phoenix Suns. He was considered a throw-in component of the Deandre Ayton-Jusuf Nurkic trade, but emerged as an intriguing prospect in his own right, with his tough perimeter defense. Across his 70 healthy games (he suffered a rib injury late into the season), he posted averages of 7.5 points and 4.9 boards.

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