Holmes and Arnovitz win in 2013 PBWA Best Writing Contest

NEW ORLEANS — Baxter Holmes and Kevin Arnovitz have been named first-place winners in the 2013 PBWA Best Writing Contest, which honors the best work by members of the Professional Basketball Writers Association.

Holmes, of The Boston Globe, placed first in the Game Story category and in the Features category.

He won the Game Story category for his account of Doc Rivers’ first game back at TD Garden since Rivers he left the Boston Celtics to coach the Los Angeles Clippers.

Holmes took first place in the Features category for a three-part series profiling the Celtics’ first-year coach, Brad Stevens.

Arnovitz, of ESPN.com, won the Columns category for a piece on the impact of Jason Collins’ decision to come out as gay.

The PBWA holds the contest each year. The organization’s active members were eligible to enter one piece from the 2013 calendar year in two of the three categories. Three independent judges evaluated the entries.

This year’s winners were announced at the PBWA’s annual All-Star Weekend meeting, which was held today prior to the 2014 NBA All-Star Game at the Smoothie King Center.

The PBWA consists of approximately 165 writers who cover the NBA on a regular basis for newspapers, Internet services and magazines.

Results for the 2013 PBWA Best Writing Contest

Game Story
1st Place: Baxter Holmes, The Boston Globe, “Celtics Lose in Doc Rivers’ Return to Boston”
2nd Place: Ethan Skolnick, The Palm Beach Post, “Miami Heat Conjure Up a One-of-a-Kind Finish to Force Game 7 in NBA Finals”
3rd Place: Jody Genessy, Deseret News, “Bobcats’ Big Al Gets Fun Letter from Kanter and a Loss from Old Team”

Features
1st Place: Baxter Holmes, The Boston Globe, “The Making of a Coach: Part I, Part II, Part III”
2nd Place: Brian Windhorst, ESPN.com, “The Chosen Ones”
3rd Place: Jonathan Abrams, Grantland, “The Forgotten Phenom”

Columns
1st Place: Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com, “What We’re Learning from Jason Collins”
2nd Place: Ramona Shelburne, ESPNLA.com, “Kobe and L.A. Tradition Will Be Tested”
3rd Place: Jason Lloyd, Akron Beacon Journal, “Byron Scott’s Future with the Cleveland Cavaliers in Question”