SPRINGFIELD – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame named its 20-member watch-list for the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer, NBA legend and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its ninth year recognizes the top center in men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
“Rounding out the Men’s Starting Five Watch List is the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award. The student-athletes on this list should feel tremendously proud of all they have accomplished to be associated with basketball’s all-time leading scorer,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “With his focus on both education and athletics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s perspective is cherished by our committee when evaluating talent each year.”
The winner of the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on a to be determined date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward) and the Karl Malone Award (Power Forward), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award are Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (2022), two-time winner Luka Garza, Iowa (2020-21), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).