NBA prospect Gary Chivichyan nominated for ESPYS Award

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian-American basketball player Gary Chivichyan has been nominated for the ESPYS 2020 Honorary Outstanding Senior award by the Nominating Committee and is proud to be the first Armenian nominee in the history of the ESPYS awards, Massis Post reports.

Dubbed the “Armenian Sniper” for his noteworthy skill at long-range shooting and scoring, Chivichyan is an NBA prospect who completed playing his senior year for the Pacific Tigers at the University of the Pacific. He was recruited by former NBA star, coach Damon Stoudamire. The Pacific Tigers have had one of their most successful seasons in 2019-2020 and Chivichyan was a big part of that success finishing second in team scoring and first in 3 point field goals made. Chivichyan, who grew up in Hollywood California was also the only division one basketball player this last season that was Armenian.

Chivichyan says “Growing up, I always had a chip on my shoulder and I always believed I would achieve great things for myself and my heritage…I always aspire to be a leader for my community and a role model for the Armenian youth….I put in a lot of work to get the results I have today” That work ethic, confidence, and mindset will be necessary to play at the NBA level as he will attempt to play professionally and break cultural boundaries stating “I want to be the first Armenian to ever make it into the NBA”. He has currently signed with NBA agent Ara Vartanian and has NBA workouts with multiple teams. Most recently, Gary competed in an NBA scrimmage, where he impressed scouts not only with his precision shooting but his ability to score the ball in a multitude of ways and played hard-nosed defense.

As recognition of his athletic ability and prolific 3-point shooting skills on the basketball court, he has been nominated for the ESPYS 2020 Honorary Outstanding Senior award.

The ESPYS or Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly awards recognize individual and team athletic achievements that took place in the calendar year preceding the ceremony. The ESPYS are for sport what the Academy Awards are for film or the Grammys are for music. The ESPYS first started out in 1993 and since 2004 the voting process has changed and the winners of each award category are not solely voted by the sports fans but also by sportswriters, executives, sports experts, and ESPN personalities. This year the ESPYS will be a little bit different due to the coronavirus pandemic, with a virtual show that is scheduled for June 21 on the ABC / ESPN network.