Celtics' Jrue Holiday Named NBA Social Justice Champion for 2024-25 Awards Season

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday has been named the NBA Social Justice champion for the 2024-25 season.

The league announced Holiday as the winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy, given annually to the player who pursues social justice and upholds the league’s decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion.

Holiday beat out four other finalists that included Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, Harrison Barnes of the San Antonio Spurs, Chris Boucher of the Toronto Raptors and CJ McCollum of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Each team nominates one player for the award. The finalists are determined by a selection committee, led by NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and Abdul-Jabbar.

The NBA adopted the Social Justice Champion as part of its annual award rotation starting with the 2020-21 season. The winner receives a donation from the league of $100,000 to an organization of their choosing. The league also bestows a $25,000 donation to an organization for the other finalists.

Previous winners include Carmelo Anthony, Reggie Bullock, Stephen Curry and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Holiday and his wife, former U.S. soccer star Lauren Holiday, started the JLH Social Impact Fund in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Jrue donated the remainder of his salary for the 2019-20 season ($5.3 million) to create the fund and provide grants to Black-led nonprofit organizations and Black-owned businesses impacted by the pandemic.

The JLH Social Impact Fund has extended its reach in the subsequent five years, providing assistance to non-profits, educational institutions, and city-wide initiatives in the Boston area where Jrue has played for the past two seasons.