Jrue Holiday Receives NBA Social Justice Champion Award
Jrue Holiday’s dedication to work off the court continues to be recognized and valued in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics guard was announced on Wednesday as the winner of the league’s Social Justice Champion award for this season. This announcement comes less than a week after Holiday won the league’s sportsmanship award for the second time in his career.
The NBA will donate $100,000 to the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund, and Holiday will receive the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy. Holiday was selected from a group of finalists that also included Miami’s Bam Adebayo, San Antonio’s Harrison Barnes, Toronto’s Chris Boucher, and New Orleans’ CJ McCollum.
The award, according to the NBA, pays tribute to those who “pursue social justice and drive Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission of engaging, empowering, and advancing equality for individuals and groups that have been historically disadvantaged.”
The fund, started by Holiday and his wife Lauren, commonly called the JLH Fund, has distributed more than $5.3 million in grants and has provided more than 400 hours of advice and support to nearly 200 businesses across the United States. It was founded five years ago after Holiday, upon deciding to play in the bubble during the 2019-20 season, pledged the remaining $5 million of his salary from that season to help businesses and communities affected by systemic racism and economic injustice.
Since entering the league, Jrue Holiday has been dedicated to helping others in their greatest moments of need and seeking a more just society for all.
Mark Tatum, NBA Deputy Commissioner
The JLH Fund has since expanded its reach, with some of its recent efforts including assisting those affected by the wildfires in the Los Angeles area earlier this year, providing grant capital to businesses, and helping entrepreneurs and others gain access to mentorship from schools such as MIT, Harvard, and Suffolk University.
The award is decided by a panel that includes Tatum, Abdul-Jabbar, human rights activist Richard Lapchick, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, and youth representative JJ Mandaquit of the Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA Court of Leaders.
