NBA announces Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award

The NBA's official press release gave an overview of Abdul-Jabbar's social contributions dating back to his teenage years:

Abdul-Jabbar has been a champion of inclusivity dating to his youth. At 17, he met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Abdul-Jabbar’s hometown of Harlem, N.Y. Inspired by King’s message, Abdul-Jabbar committed to using his influence as a visible athlete to engage on critically important social issues during the Civil Rights Movement. He attended the 1967 Cleveland Summit where Bill Russell, Jim Brown and other prominent Black athletes gathered to discuss Muhammad Ali’s refusal to serve in the Vietnam War. Abdul-Jabbar has continued to promote equality and combat discrimination in the decades since his retirement from basketball. In 2016, former President Barack Obama awarded him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2009, Abdul-Jabbar created the Skyhook Foundation, aimed at providing educational STEM opportunities to underserved communities.

The Milwaukee Bucks (1969-75) and Los Angeles Lakers (1975-89) legend spoke with Michael C. Wright for NBA.com to discuss how "very honored" he feels about the league's decision to create this annual award, which will grant the winning player $100,000 for a charity of his choice.

"I hope it serves as an inspiration to the guys in the league now to see what they can do," the 74-year-old six-time NBA champion said. "I think when they start competing with each other to do good things in their communities, we’ll get a lot of positive results from that."

The 19-time All-Star and six-time MVP added: 

"I’m glad that this present generation is taking their time because, see, you can’t rush into something like that. You have to understand what the issues are, and you have to take your time and approach it in a way where you can really affect change."