Finalists announced for 2025-26 NBA Social Justice Champion award
NEW YORK, May 15, 2026 – The NBA at this time announced that Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Harrison Barnes (San Antonio Spurs), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Tobias Harris (Detroit Pistons) and Larry Nance Jr. (Cleveland Cavaliers) have been chosen because the 5 finalists for the 2026 NBA Social Justice Champion award.
The annual award honors a present NBA participant for pursuing social justice and can obtain the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trophy for advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to interact, empower and drive equality for people and teams who’ve been traditionally deprived. The NBA Social Justice Champion will probably be announced through the Conference Finals of the 2026 NBA Playoffs and obtain a $100,000 donation from the NBA for a non-profit group of his selecting.
The finalists had been decided from a pool of nominees submitted by NBA groups to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion choice committee, comprised of social justice leaders and members of the NBA household. This 12 months marks the introduction of a brand new choice committee following 5 years of excellent service and considerate stewardship by the award’s previous committee memberswho helped set up and elevate the award’s impression.
This 12 months’s committee is comprised of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum and new members – Realize The Dream Co-Founders, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, GirlTREK Co-Founder and President Vanessa Garrison, National Museum of African American History & Culture Acting Director Shanita Brackett, Civic Nation CEO Kyle Lierman, NBA President of Social Responsibility & Player Programs Kathy Behrens, National Basketball Players Association Foundation (NBPA) Executive Director Erika Swilley and Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Court of Leaders and Class of 2027 highschool basketball participant Cayden Daughtry Jr.
Below is extra data on the finalists and their efforts.
Social Justice Champion
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
Bam Adebayo has continued to make a long-lasting impression by his dedication to academic fairness, meals safety and youth improvement in underserved communities throughout South Florida and North Carolina. Through the Bam Adebayo Foundation, he led 18 social justice-focused initiatives through the 2025-26 season, investing greater than $563,000 into applications designed to broaden entry and alternative for underserved youth and households. Adebayo supplied mattresses, uniforms and college provides for college students at The SEED School of Miami, funded transportation for greater than 19,000 college students to attend the Miami Book Fair and hosted experiences designed to reveal college students to new alternatives and mentorship. He additionally addressed meals insecurity by large-scale vacation meal distributions, hosted an annual toy drive serving greater than 2,000 youngsters, and continued to assist youth improvement applications together with his Bam Basketball Camp and the Liberty City Warriors program. Additionally, Adebayo donated a renovated Miami HEAT-themed basketball courtroom at Camillus House Homeless Shelter to create a everlasting house for recreation and wellness for residents in the neighborhood.
Harrison Barnes, San Antonio Spurs
Harrison Barnes has continued his longstanding dedication to academic fairness, financial alternative and youth improvement by sustained investments in underserved communities throughout San Antonio and past. During the 2025-26 season, Barnes dedicated $150,000 to 10 San Antonio nonprofit organizations supporting psychological well being, housing stability, civic engagement and financial empowerment, whereas additionally making the most important single contribution within the historical past of the San Antonio MLK Commission Scholarship Program with a $50,000 donation to assist graduating seniors pursuing greater schooling. Barnes moreover addressed meals insecurity by offering groceries and reward playing cards to just about 200 households on San Antonio’s East Side and expanded entry to secure neighborhood areas by a multi-city courtroom refurbishment initiative in San Antonio, Austin and Saltillo, Mexico. As an inaugural NBA Foundation Board member, Barnes additionally continues to assist nationwide efforts centered on financial alternative and profession development for underserved communities.
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown has continued to advance financial fairness and academic entry by investments centered on entrepreneurship, possession and workforce improvement alternatives for Black and Brown communities. Through Boston Brown moreover remained deeply concerned in his 7uice Foundation Bridge Program, which offers mentorship, STEAM publicity, faculty readiness and workforce placement alternatives for college students nationwide. During the 2025-26 season, one hundred pc of Bridge members had been accepted to each faculty and college to which they utilized, as this system continued increasing nationally to broaden entry and alternative for underserved college students.
Tobias Harris, Detroit Pistons
Tobias Harris has centered his social justice efforts on advancing financial fairness and increasing entry to inexpensive homeownership alternatives for working-class households. Through the Tobias Harris Homeownership Initiative (THHI), Harris developed an modern shared-appreciation mortgage mannequin designed to deal with structural obstacles to homeownership by lowering upfront prices and reducing month-to-month funds for certified first-time homebuyers in Detroit neighborhoods. Harris invested greater than $1 million into the initiative’s pilot program and labored carefully with public, personal and philanthropic companions to assist create sustainable pathways to long-term wealth creation and housing stability. Beyond Detroit, Harris can also be concerned within the improvement of greater than 560 inexpensive housing models throughout 5 initiatives in Los Angeles, reinforcing his broader dedication to housing affordability and financial justice. Additionally, as a founding NBA Foundation Board member, Harris continues to assist nationwide efforts centered on financial alternative and profession development for underserved communities.
Larry Nance Jr., Cleveland Cavaliers
Larry Nance Jr. has persistently used his platform to advocate for immigrant justice, healthcare fairness, schooling entry and assist for underserved households and communities. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Nance Jr. leveraged the visibility of his pregame walk-ins to lift consciousness round social justice points, together with immigrant advocacy and assist for girls in sports activities. He additionally supported weak households by donating presents and important provides to residents at The Haven Home, who serve pregnant and parenting girls experiencing homelessness, and contributed $15,000 to Cleveland Clinic digestive well being analysis by his work with Athletes vs. Crohn’s & Colitis. In assist of academic and humanities fairness, Nance Jr. established the Elevating Possibility Scholarship for highschool seniors excelling in arts or athletics and partnered with Swensons in Akron to lift funds and accumulate provides for Akron Public Schools, personally matching each greenback raised. As a member of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition Board, Nance Jr. additionally continues to assist advance the NBA’s social justice priorities and management improvement initiatives.
