FOR the second consecutive month, Bahamian pros Jonquel “JJ” Jones and Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr claimed the Tribune Athletes of the Month honours.

The Bahamian duo made October count in historic fashion in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) respectively.

The Tribune Sports section will recognise the efforts of athletes across all sporting disciplines and award a top male and female candidate at the end of each respective month, culminating with the athlete of the year distinction.

Female Winner  - 

Jonquel Jones 

Grand Bahama native Jonquel Jones cemented herself as arguably one of the greatest Bahamian basketball players of all time during her latest WNBA Finals run with the New York Liberty.

In her fourth finals appearance, Jones played a pivotal role in helping the Libs to secure their first title in franchise history and the first WNBA championship of her career. 

If that was not enough, she was also awarded as the 2024 Finals MVP while becoming just the first Bahamian to win the WNBA crown.

She was just the third non-Bahamian to capture a WNBA title and eleventh player in WNBA history to secure both the title and Finals MVP honours. 

The Liberty sent the Minnesota Lynx home with a decisive 67-62  win in game five and Jones shouldered the load with a team-high 17 points, six rebounds and one assist. She shot 5-for-10 and went a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe.

Jones earned the Finals MVP award by averaging 17.8 points per game and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 56 per cent from the field. 

Male Winner - 

Jasrado “Jazz” 

Chisholm Jr

With the Yankees booking a ticket to the World Series, “Jazz” became the second Bahamian since the late Ed Armbrister to make it to the big dance.

While the Bronx Bombers have trailed in the World Series against the LA Dodgers, Chisholm Jr has had some big moments.

In game one of the series, he went 2-for-5 with two singles while tying the record for the most stolen bases in a World Series with three. He also played a role in the Yankees winning their first game of the World Series on Tuesday. Chisholm Jr went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in New York’s dominant 11-4 victory.

He is batting .176 with 9 hits, a homer, an RBI and four runs scored during the Yankees’ postseason run.