He is the third winner ever of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award
Steph Curry didn’t do as much winning on the court as he’s accustomed to but still found ways to win off of it. Over the years, the Golden State Warriors guard has become one of the most recognizable faces on the planet due to his incredible shooting ability on a basketball court. That hasn’t stopped him from doing things to help his community. On May 23, the NBA announced that Curry has been awarded the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award.
The work on the court is important.
The work off the court changes lives.Stephen, congratulations on being named the recipient of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award. Incredibly well deserved. pic.twitter.com/qRx56kI3Ja
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 23, 2023
This is an award that is reserved for players who follow Abdul-Jabbar’s message of civil rights, Black empowerment, and racial equality. Curry is just the third player to win the award which was established in 2021. Carmelo Anthony and Reggie Bullock are the two other players to have won. The reason Curry was selected was due to “his work in advocating for voting rights, gender and racial equity in sports, and food scarcity in underserved communities,” per ESPN.
The former MVP has served as co-chair to former first lady Michelle Obama’s “When We All Vote” initiative, which exists to try and get more diverse and young people to vote. Voting rights aren’t the only thing that Curry has pushed for. He has also been heavily involved in helping kids pay for school. His UNDERRATED brand provides scholarships to high school athletes.
Always an honor to go 1-on-1 w/ @StephenCurry30 to talk about his off the court work, the @underrated tour which is an absolute slam dunk for high schoolers looking to earn college scholarships and more. @SC30inc
Watch/read via @abc7newsbayarea➡️ https://t.co/mvCyqN3o7J pic.twitter.com/B8QPS3xK81
— Chris Alvarez (@CAlvarezABC7) April 2, 2023
Curry also runs the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation with his wife Ayesha. The foundation is based in Oakland, California, and the focus is to get children more active and to provide them with better nutrition.
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The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award isn’t just a trophy. Curry will be able to give a $100,000 donation to a charity of his choice. And he’s already made the choice. He plans to give the money to the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice.
Other finalists were Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul, and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams.
“As an athlete, I consistently leverage my platform to amplify advocacy and address the pervasive issue of systemic racism,” Curry said in a statement. “I firmly believe that we must be vocal both on social media and in real life, taking tangible actions to effect real change in our society and for generations to come.”
Curry already holds a long list of awards but this one has to feel special. As noted earlier, there are only two other players to ever earn the award. Having a big name like Curry winning the award only brings more awareness, which could lead to more players working hard to receive the honor. If that leads to more players helping their communities, then that’s a big win for the NBA.
