What NBA award did Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl Anthony Towns win?

Given the season that the Timberwolves have been having and where they currently are i.e., leading the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 2-0 in the NBA Playoffs, it would be easy to focus on the on court exploits of both the team and its individual players. On the other hand, the team’s main man in the middle has been turning heads for things that he’s achieved off the court as well, and rightly so.

Karl-Anthony Towns receives the Social Justice Champion award

According to an announcement from the NBA on Thursday, Minnesota Timberwolves center-forward Karl-Anthony Towns has been named the 2023-24 NBA Social Justice Champion and to that end, will receive the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy for his off-court advocacy efforts. If you didn’t know, Towns has been a fervent promoter of issues within the justice and education system, more specifically, the voting rights afforded to formerly incarcerated individuals. To that end, the 28-year-old was understandably in firm support of the state of Minnesota’s Restore the Vote bill (House File 28), a since-passed piece of legislation that restores the right to vote for thousands of citizens who were formerly incarcerated in the criminal justice system. H.F. 28 was signed into law back in March of 2023 and later implemented in July of that year.

It is understood that the bill has affected more than 55,000 Minnesota citizens who were previously incarcerated or are currently on parole. Yet, Towns’ efforts didn’t stop there. Indeed, the Dominican-American also served as a producer for the documentary film “Forgiving Johnny”, which takes a closer look at the effect of digital transformation within the justice system, and even provided funding for the Ava DuVernay film “Origin”. At present, Towns also sits on the board of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition (NBSJC).

“Karl-Anthony Towns has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing social justice through his tremendous advocacy work not only this past year, but throughout his whole career,” Mark Tatum, NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Whether it was the passage of the Restore the Vote legislation in Minnesota, his ‘Forgiving Johnny’ documentary or continued work with the Coalition, Karl’s efforts have made a true impact on the lives of thousands in Minnesota and beyond.”

Regarding the criteria for the award itself, the winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award is determined by a selection committee that includes Abdul-Jabbar himself. If you’re wondering, the award is named after the Lakers legend in recognition of the immense amount of advocacy that he performed during his career. Among several causes that saw his involvement, Abdul-Jabbar was perhaps most known for his organization of a boycott of the 1968 Olympics in protest of the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Other finalists for this year’s award included the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo, New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Lindy Waters III, and the LA Clippers guard Russell Westbrook.