{"id":196765,"date":"2026-05-23T09:49:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=196765"},"modified":"2026-05-23T09:49:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:49:35","slug":"bam-adebayo-2026-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/23\/bam-adebayo-2026-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Bam Adebayo Earns 2026 NBA Social Justice Champion Award, All-Defensive Team Recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Friday, Miami Heat cornerstone <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/adebaba01.html\" class=\"editor-rtfLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bam Adebayo<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was named the NBA Social Justice Champion for the 2025-26 season.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Created in May 2021, this award celebrates an active NBA player who strives for social justice and gives back to the community. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The three-time All-Star will be presented with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/nba-creates-kareem-abdul-jabbar-social-justice-award-official-release\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy<\/a> for carrying on the legacy and mission of Hall of Fame center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/abdulka01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/a>\u2019s life and promoting equality for the underrepresented groups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Alongside the trophy is the NBA&#8217;s donation of $100,000 to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebbbfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bam, Books &amp; Brotherhood Foundation<\/a>. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This non-profit is run by Adebayo<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">as<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the board president to help single mothers and develop future opportunities for young children.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Adebayo has become the sixth player to win the award, joining Portland Trail Blazers veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a>, New York Knicks star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/townska01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>, Golden State Warriors centerpiece <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryst01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Curry<\/a>, former NBA veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bullore01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reggie Bullock<\/a>, and Hall of Fame forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/anthoca01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmelo Anthony<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bam Adebayo Wins 2026 NBA Social Justice Champion Award<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Acknowledging this award with <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">graciousness<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> at the press conference on Friday night, Adebayo has accepted it <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">for<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> not just himself but \u201cfor every voice that has gone unheard\u201d and for all the people working behind the scenes \u201cto create a more just and compassionate world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bam Adebayo has been named the 2026 NBA Social Justice Champion \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI accept this award not just for myself, but for every voice that has gone unheard and every person working behind the scenes to create a more just and compassionate world\u201d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Iq0HYq4kzp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Iq0HYq4kzp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Heat Lead \ud83d\udd25 (@HeatLead) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HeatLead\/status\/2058069472582234133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 23, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He also credited his success to his mother (Marilyn Blount) and her years of hard work. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bam Adebayo\u2019s actions speak louder than words<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Adebayo <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/heat\/news\/bam-adebayo-named-the-2026-nba-social-justice-champion\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">went above and beyond<\/a> to give back to the Miami community, as he himself is aware of the tribulations firsthand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 800px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"a61405551f80e72f675225f083759bb9\" image-id=\"fwuQuPz7lp3F\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 5568px; aspect-ratio: 5568\/3712;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The now world-renowned player comes from a humble beginning; he grew up in extreme poverty and struggled to manage even the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">basic<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> necessities, which fueled the fire in him to shine the brightest in the NBA. And now, in his turn, he<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">made his best efforts. As part of his <a href=\"https:\/\/pr.nba.com\/miami-heats-bam-adebayo-named-2025-26-nba-social-justice-champion-and-will-receive-the-kareem-abdul-jabbar-trophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">commitment to empowering the youth<\/a>, the Olympic gold medalist has (h\/t NBA Communications):\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Arranged mattresses, school uniforms, and supplies for students of The SEED School of Miami.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Funded transportation of 19,000 students that enabled them to attend the Miami Book Fair and introduced students to new opportunities and mentorship through designed experiences.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Uplifted the underserved communities\u2019 children by hosting over 2,000 students at his annual holiday toy drive on the Kaseya Center main court.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Contributed to eradicating food insecurity through holiday meal distributions and supported youth development programs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Made a contribution of more than $563,000 <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">for<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> 18 social justice initiatives.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">After a rough season, this is finally some good news for the Heat<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, Adebayo<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> becoming the first <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">player in the franchise<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0to <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">get<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the award.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">6x All-Defensive Team Section<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Heat has got another reason to be proud of Adebayo as the player has also been selected to the NBA\u2019s All-Defensive Team after coming in eighth-place in a 100-vote poll. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Out of those 100, Adebayo received 10 first team votes and 51 second team votes<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A global media panel of 100 voters selected the 2025-26 Kia NBA All-Defensive Team.<\/p>\n<p>The complete voting results \u2b07\ufe0f <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nzi2CGhq3T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/nzi2CGhq3T<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA Communications (@NBAPR) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBAPR\/status\/2057969542794486242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This marks his sixth All-Defensive team selection. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Though skipped over in 2024-25, Adebayo has been named to the All-Defensive Team regularly since 2020. In 2023-24, he was named to the All-Defensive First Team (and he was a Defensive Player of the Year finalist). In just six seasons, the 28-year-old already has more All-Defensive Team selections than any player in Heat history.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Miami&#8217;s Shining Star<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">So far, this year has been full of highlights for Adebayo. Most notably, he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/03\/11\/dont-expect-it-to-get-any-easier-for-the-washington-wizards\/\" target=\"_self\">scored 83 points<\/a> against the Washington Wizards in March, the second-highest single-game scoring total in NBA history.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ultimately, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">this is<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> uplifting news for the Heat, whose spirits have been broken after the playoff setback. Already considered the team&#8217;s on-court leader, Adebayo has indeed set an inspiring example for a roster that looks to their captain to lead them with valor. This noble recognition will further cement his position as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/03\/07\/miami-heats-dynamic-frontcourt-duo\/\" target=\"_self\">the franchise&#8217;s shining star<\/a>, making him indispensable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div ng-show=\"setImageMetadata.credit\" class=\"modal-image-setImageMetadata\">\n<p class=\"ng-binding\">\u00a9 Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Friday, Miami Heat cornerstone Bam Adebayo was named the NBA Social Justice Champion for the 2025-26 season.\u00a0Created in May 2021, this award celebrates an active NBA player who strives for social justice and gives back to the community. The three-time All-Star will be presented with the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy for carrying on the legacy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5848,"featured_media":196791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,16,62,3],"tags":[1010,49106],"class_list":["post-196765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-heat","category-nba","category-news","tag-bam-adebayo","tag-nba-award"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196765"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":196792,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196765\/revisions\/196792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}