The J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award was introduced to the league in 1975. It was named after the second NBA president, J. Walter Kennedy. The award is presented annually at the end of the regular season and can go to either a player, coach, or athletic trainer that demonstrates outstanding service and dedication to their community.
History of the Award
The J Walter Kennedy Citizenship award has been awarded to thirty-four people, including one season in which there were two winners (Michael Cooper for the Los Angeles Lakers and Rory Sparrow for the New York Knicks). Dikembe Mutumbo is the only person in the history of the award to win it twice.
Professional Basketball Writers Association
The winner of the award is decided by a vote from the Professional Basketball Writers Association. This association is made up of over 200 writers and editors that cover the NBA in various forms like newspapers, magazines, and online news outlets. The association nominates players, then around 150 members of the association are tasked with determining a winner.
Notorious Winners
While a big name player does not win the J Walter Kennedy Citizenship award every season, there are a plethora of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport showing their outstanding service and dedication to their community off the court.
LeBron James
LeBron James took home the J Walter Kennedy citizenship award in the 2016-2017 season during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. James, being from Cleveland, has always taken it amongst himself to take care of the northeast area of Ohio. LeBron’s impact was incredible in the city of Cleveland during his time there. He almost singlehandedly kept the Cleveland economy flourishing as many businesses reported major losses the first season after he left for Los Angeles.
The biggest direct contribution LeBron made and arguably the act that won him the J Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award was the opening of his school. James opened this school for at-risk children in the northeast area of Ohio. Not wanting them to go through the same hardships that he faced growing up, James’s school provides the children with a quality education that they otherwise would have likely missed out on. Along with this, James has committed to paying for the tuition of every child that graduates through his school.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson was the 1991-1992 J Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award winner. Johnson is known as being one of the best passers that the league has ever seen along with being one of the all-time greats. During his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Johnson won the award through his outstanding service for the children of Washington D.C.
Johnson put on a charity game featuring himself and other big names in the league in an effort to raise money for the underprivileged kids in D.C. The game ended up being extremely successful in both turnout and funds raised. Final reports came out saying that the game raised $100,000 if not more.
Eric Snow
Eric Snow is the second Cleveland Cavaliers player to make an appearance on this list. Snow, while not being the biggest name to ever win the award, had a very successful career in the NBA and was a quality starting point guard or bench player for his career. He won the award for his outstanding service in the 2004-2005 season.
Malcolm Brogdon
Malcolm Brogdon is the most recent recipient of the award. He is one of the promising young pieces of the Indiana Pacers. Malcolm Brogdon’s commitment to his community was shown when he opened up the Brogdon Family Foundation. One of the goals of the foundation is to raise $50,000 to provide a sports court and garden for over 500 children and their families. Along with this, they are working to provide clean water and proper education for those who do not have access to it. Some other NBA players that have aligned with Brogdon’s organization are Donte Divincenzo, Joe Harris, George Hill, De’Andre Hunter, Kyle Lowry, and Myles Turner.
These humanitarian efforts are only the beginning for Brogdan as it appears he is truly dedicated to his cause and will continue to fund and provide these services throughout the remainder of his career and further on into retirement. This is a player that the Indiana Pacers should be proud to have on their roster and it is clear that he will continue to do amazing things.
PBWA President Josh Robbins from The Athletic is quoted as saying, “Members of the Professional Basketball Writers Association salute him and commend his fellow finalists and nominees for their exemplary work”. Although we have only seen it happen once in the history of the award, it would not at all be a shock if Brogdon earns this award once again sometime during his career.
Who is the first player to win the award that was not born in the United States?
Vlade Divac won the award in the 1999-00 season. Divac is from Serbia. At the time, he was one of the most prominent NBA community activists. He was considered a hero in his birth country Yugoslavia as he raised $500,000 from a campaign for disadvantaged children in Serbia and Montenegro. The region was just after the breakup of Yugoslavia which led to tough living conditions.
