High-Status Teammates: Award Evaluation in the National Basketball Association.

This article examines how the presence of high-status teammates influences individual evaluations in team-based award selections, focusing on the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star voting process. It finds that in the first stage of evaluation—candidate filtering—high-status teammates (defined as players with prior All-Star recognition) increase their colleagues' visibility to judges, thereby enhancing their chances of advancing. However, in the second stage—final selection—high-status teammates may negatively bias judges' assessments of their colleagues, as lower-status players appear less deserving when compared directly to high-status individuals. These effects are statistically significant in fan voting but less so among player voters, suggesting differences in judge sophistication. The study highlights the dual role of intrateam status asymmetries in shaping recognition outcomes and contributes to understanding social evaluation dynamics in team contexts where awards are given to individuals.