Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s legacy on the court speaks for itself, but he also has accomplished a great deal off the court.
To honor what Abdul-Jabbar does outside of basketball, the NBA created the “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award” to honor a player every year for “pursuing social justice and upholding the league’s decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion.”
This year’s five finalists were Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings, Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks, Juan Toscano-Anderson of the Golden State Warriors, Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers and Carmelo Anthony of the Portland Trail Blazers.
The league announced Anthony as the first winner of the award Tuesday.
He was chosen by a select committee comprising Abdul-Jabbar and more “for his dedication over the past year to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.”
LeBron James, a longtime friend of Anthony, congratulated him on his Instagram story:
As the winner, Anthony received the opportunity to give $100,000 to any organization of his choice. The remaining four finalists will receive $25,000 to give to any organization.
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