CJ McCollum wins NBA J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum has made a profound impact inside and outside of Smoothie King Center. And with each bright smile, excited scream or tear of joy from the locals, McCollum receives as much as any of his key 3-pointers, fast-break dunks or quick-handed steals.

“Helping people is the greatest gift in the world,” McCollum told Andscape. “And out of all the things that I’ve been able to do in my life, the greatest joy I get is in seeing people genuinely appreciate it, whether that’s conversations, whether that’s health, whether that’s resources, whether that is an opportunity.

“Seeing the look on some of these kids and their family’s faces and some of my interactions with them is something that I’ll hold onto forever. And genuinely seeing how appreciative everyone has been from me helping people has taught me a great sense of empathy.”

For McCollum’s charitable efforts, he is being recognized with the 2024 NBA J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. Named after the NBA’s second commissioner, the annual award is presented by the Professional Basketball Writers Association to a player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community. McCollum, a previous candidate for the award, is the first Pelicans player to win it.

In a nomination letter, the Pelicans wrote, “McCollum is leaving a lasting impact on the Greater New Orleans area as a community leader and activist with an emphasis on supporting quality education, providing equitable resources and opportunities for youth, and strategically addressing social justice reform.” The 2016 NBA Most Improved Player partnered with New Orleans nonprofit College Beyond to launch the McCollum Scholars Program, a $1.1 million investment, awarding 10 Pell Grant-eligible students from New Orleans high schools with a four-year, needs-based college scholarship.

The CJ McCollum Dream Center at the Westbank Boys & Girls Club of Metro Louisiana was opened in Gretna in March, offering cutting-edge technological resources tailored to fostering enriched educational experiences for youths, including new laptops and tablets, smart boards, laser printers, a new library, virtual reality headsets, and a podcast studio. The McCollum Dream Center is the third McCollum has opened and the first in Louisiana. In October 2023, the Canton, Ohio, native joined the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights and the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition in a tour of the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center and Travis Hill School in New Orleans dedicated to rehabilitation and education in the justice system. The former Portland Trail Blazers star also started the CJ Press Pass in Portland, Oregon, in 2018, which offered local high school students a journalism-based mentorship program.

The following is a Q&A with McCollum in which he talks to Andscape about what winning the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award means to him, the state of the Pelicans, the impact he’s made in New Orleans in a short time, being in the company of other NBA icons who won the award and much more.

How did you find out you got the award and what was your reaction?

[Excel Sports Management agent Ashley Combs] shared that I won the award and it was surprising. Kind of caught me off guard because I like to do the work and I like to go home. That’s kind of the mentality that I’ve had. But when she told me I won the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, that basically said we had done a lot of quality work and a variety of things that have been super-impactful. And it all started with putting a plan in place, understand what we want to accomplish, and then executing that plan eight to 10 hours in the making with meetings, calls, strategy conversations. Really just trying to figure out how to do so many different things.

These are completely different lanes. Some of the lanes that I’ve been down, they’re all different. So, they provide unique challenges for the team and for Ashley and the agency and just conversations that went into this process. Obviously, the work, the time spent, so many people spending so much time to try to make these things work and try to bring some of the dreams and visions to life. It’s an amazing honor to be considered in this light.

And it took a lot of sacrifice from a lot of people, not just time but energy. But the thought that goes into this — never mind the finances — it’s really the energy, thought and time. Time is the most precious gift you have on this earth. And for other people to be willing to put their time into others is a testament to the world and the direction that we’re heading in and trying to make it a better place.

There are a lot of great NBA awards, but this is held in pretty high esteem. How do you define it?

There’s a lot of awards you can win in this league, and a lot of them are centered around your individual talents and kind of what you’ve achieved on the court. And this award is so much more. It’s a combination of so many different things in terms of impact, selflessness, serving people. It’s a selfless award, and I’ve talked about it a lot throughout my career. As an athlete, you’re generally selfish, right? You try to do things to appease yourself, your career, your families. It’s always trying to figure out how to improve your current standing.

And as you get older, you realize the importance of selflessness and trying to really figure out ways to help others and help improve the lives of others. And the cool part about this award is that obviously I received the award, but it takes a village to be in a position like this, and it takes so much thought, planning, care, attention, attentiveness. And this is in earnest the last nine years or the last 10 years of strategically trying to figure out ways to make impact and lifelong commitment on our part to really making an impact and helping people and figuring out ways to leave places better than they were when we found them.

We really prioritized and strategically sat down with different groups of people to figure out exactly what they needed. And I think we delivered. And that’s the really cool part about all of this is it is nice to be in a position to receive an award, but I think it’s really cool to see the impact and to see the lives that are being changed through good work. I’m just really, really excited about the fact that we’ve been able to hit so many different pillars in terms of quality education, providing equitable resources, providing opportunities, all the while strategically addressing social justice reform. And this is really just a culmination of over a decade of work. I was actually nominated for this award in 2016, 2017, and I’m really just thankful that I’ve been able to take some of the blessings my family and I have received and been able to give back to others and being able to serve others’ needs.

And I truly believe that the kids are our future and it’s really important that we put resources into them so that they’re better positioned to succeed down the road. And a lot of this has to do with my upbringing. A lot of this has to do with how I was raised. You never forget where you come from and what you come from. You always appreciate your current standing and a blessing that you’ve received, and you try to do your best.

What do you think about everything you’ve been able to do in New Orleans in such a short amount of time?

It has taken a lot of strategic planning, conversations and execution. And obviously we’ve been able to do a lot. This is my second full season here. I’m just thankful that I’ve been able to attack this market really strategically and really focus on the things that this city needed from an improvement standpoint. Obviously, we focused on kids. I hit the ground running here and really, really just focused on not only areas that are near and dear to my heart, but areas that this city specifically needed from food insecurities to education to just equitable opportunities.

I received this award on behalf of my family. We get a lot of credit for the work, but there are a lot of people who do a lot of work behind the scenes that may not necessarily always get the credit they deserve. Whether that’s actually from my agency or people from within the Pelicans organization who have helped connect the dots and allow us to have great partnership opportunities on execution from college beyond to a lot of great people out of Portland, Oregon, who have spearheaded the way in my community service efforts.

And, honestly, man, I’m just blessed and fortunate. I’m thankful to have continued to make strides in areas of life that truly matter. Obviously, basketball is important. It’s played a huge role in my life and will continue to. But the team has allowed my family to do some incredible things. It’s allowed me to have some incredible experiences. I’ve been able to strategically provide some really great moments and opportunities for other people.

A lot of big names are on this list of people who have this award like Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving. And there are also not-so-big names either. When you look at the list of people, what resonates with you?

That’s a list of quality human beings, first and foremost, people who have consistently figured out ways to think outside themselves. People who know their why, who know their purpose. We all are brought to earth with a purpose. And as you get older, you continue to find yourself, figure out what lane you want to maneuver in and how you want to leave a lasting legacy and impact. Figuring out my why was very important. Figuring out the legacy I want to leave behind was very important to me in terms of how I want to be remembered for treating people the right way, continuing to help people, continuing to encourage people to be the best person in themselves while trying to figure out ways to provide unique opportunities for people, especially our underserved community.

Growing up where I grew up, I have a unique perspective and understanding of what it takes to be successful, but also some of the things that can deter a young man or woman from becoming successful, whether that’s circumstance, neighborhood location, upbringing, resources. So, it is a blessing to be mentioned in the likes of some of those great names and great human beings who have figured out a way to be more selfless.

From your time around all these young kids and getting to know them and also knowing their dreams and their wants and needs, what have you learned from them and what do you think they need?

Seeing how appreciative everyone has been and helping people has taught me a great sense of empathy. You think you know someone. You think you have an understanding of someone until you meet them, until you see them and meet them where they are — whether that’s at a juvenile facility, whether that’s in the [New Orleans] 9th Ward, whether in their neighborhood, whether that’s at the Boys & Girls Club, whether that’s at a game, whether that’s a part of me working with people who are eventually returning to society after being inmates. And seeing a lot of myself in a lot of these kids and some kids who made the right decisions, some kids who made the wrong decisions. And just my upbringing where I grew up and having family that has gone through this system, being able to play a sport and go to college and get a scholarship. My family wouldn’t have been able to pay for it out of pocket growing up in a single-parent household. All those things helped shape me into who I am today and helped change my perspective.

When I have these conversations with kids and their families, I’m able to have a conversation with a mom who is raising her kid on her own because the husband passed away and is kind of playing dual roles with his mother and father and understand the importance of what a scholarship to college can do for them. It really paints a unique perspective on life and how precious it is and how blessed and fortunate my family has been to be able to take the path that we’ve taken.

When you grow up with an appreciation and understanding of education like my wife and I have, and you see what education has been able to do for you, you want to be able to provide some of those things for other people. You really start to figure out your purpose, your why, and I think helping people, being able to provide opportunities for people and being able to see people live out their dreams is something that brings me great joy.

What are you going to do with the trophy? Where does it go?

I have a desk that my wife gifted me for my birthday, and it has a lot of mementos on it. From my first career triple-double to the most improved player [award] to Bob Lanier Community Assist award that I won in 2023, to my free-throw percentage championship to my college degree, to my jersey retirement with Lehigh, my young alumni award at Lehigh University to my wedding photos. It just a collection of really cool memories throughout my life.

And this one will end at the very top, right next to some of the most positive and impactful moments of my life. And it’s such a unique honor and privilege to be able to receive a reward like this. And obviously, I get the award, but so many people helped make this possible. So many people took the baton for me and ran the race so we could all be successful.

Now that the dust has settled on the Pelicans season, how do you reflect on it and where do you guys go from here?

It’s just about figuring out how I can be better, how I can be more efficient, how I can be more impactful as a player, as a leader, as a teammate, how I can be better on both sides of the ball. The ramping up workouts for me will begin about [seven] days from now. My workouts are beginning for me and Devin [Skinner]. He’s my movement specialist. We’ll go over our calendar, we’ll put our list together, put our phase one, phase two, phase three together. We’ll continue to have conversations about how I want to improve. I’ll meet with [assistant coach] Casey [Hill] next week. I’ll meet with [coach] Willie [Green] next week. I’ll meet with some of the guys I use to help me get better.

We’ll watch film and we’ll start to game plan on how I can be successful, efficient, and better. In my 12th season last [season], we put an emphasis on 3-point shooting efficiency. And we’ll continue to see how the game changes, see how I’ll be utilized, and adapt accordingly. But I’m looking forward to the challenge. Each year you figure out ways to critique yourself and to add to your game and to figure out how to be better. And as you get older, you become wiser and you become smarter and looking forward.

Is there anything that you’d like to do in charity or philanthropy that you’re dreaming of doing but haven’t been able to do it yet?

That is a great question. I’ll have to sit down and brainstorm. I’ve done a lot of really cool things from scholarships to opportunities at the Boys & Girls Club. The ‘Y’ is providing kids with opportunities that I wish I had growing up, providing them with safe spaces, providing with education opportunities. And then just kind of looking at my life, what types of things have I experienced throughout my life. What types of things have my friends and family experienced throughout my life? How has that impacted them? And how can I change the trajectory of some of the people that are going to come after us? How do we better position them to be successful in their communities and in this world?

My wife and I will continue to figure out ways to do impactful work together, continue to utilize Ashley in our agency and all those like-minded people who believe in creating change. We believe in making the world a better place.