Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Cities has been key within the staff’s success all season, however he’s additionally being observed for his off-the-court work.

Monday, Cities was named a finalist for the NBA”s 2023-24 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award, which is given yearly to a participant for work in pursuing social justice and upholding the league’s values of equality, respect and inclusion.

Beginning in late 2022 or early 2023, Cities was a robust advocate of the state’s “Restore the Vote” invoice to permit felons who’ve accomplished their durations of incarceration to vote. That invoice was in the end handed by state lawmakers and signed into legislation final summer season, however Cities participated in lots of group assembly and conversations in help of the measure.

He additionally used his platform to spotlight different social justice and fairness points, together with as a producer for the documentary “Forgiving Johnny” and thru funding for Ava DuVernay’s movie “Origin.”

“I’m extremely humbled to be named a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion finalist,” Cities stated. “Being an advocate for equality and utilizing my platform to advance causes closest to my coronary heart and supporting these most marginalized is essential to me.”

Cities joins Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, Thunder guard Lindy Waters III and Warmth heart Bam Adebayo as finalists for this 12 months’s award. He was additionally a finalist for the award in 2022.

The winner will probably be introduced subsequent month and obtain $100,000 for his or her trigger.