KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NABC announced on Monday that the award formerly known as the NABC Metropolitan Award will be renamed the NABC Mike Krzyzewski Award starting in the 2024-25 season. The newly-renamed NABC Mike Krzyzewski Award will continue to recognize basketball coaches and contributors for long and outstanding service to the game.
The honor is the NABC’s longest-running annual award, having been presented since 1941. Its past recipients have included the likes of Phog Allen, Pete Newell, John McLendon, John Wooden, Dave Gavitt, John Thompson, Jim Nantz, Roy Williams, John Chaney and Dick Vitale, among many others who have shaped the game.
Krzyzewski – who himself received the honor in 2009 – retired in 2022 after a decorated career that included five national championships, 13 Final Four appearances, 1,202 Division I victories, and three Olympic gold medals. Krzyzewski also held key leadership roles within the NABC structure throughout his career, including terms served as president of both the NABC Board of Directors and the NABC Foundation Board of Directors.
“The NABC takes pride in celebrating on-court excellence and off-court impact – two characteristics that Mike Krzyzewski has for decades embodied,” said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson. “Renaming this honor after Coach K will further elevate the award’s prestigious reputation, and is a fitting tribute to one of the most influential figures in sports history.”
The NABC Mike Krzyzewski Award will continue to be presented each year during the annual NABC Convention.
