The NBA's Lifetime Achievement Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to a player who exemplified extraordinary success on and off the court in the NBA.
The inaugural recipient of the award was Bill Russell: a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics.[1] The 2019 award was shared between two players: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Every recipient of the award has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame prior to receiving the award. As of 2019[update], all winners have been American.
^ ab"Bill Russell to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at NBA Awards". nba.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
^"Oscar Robertson to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at NBA Awards". nba.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
^ ab"Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2019 NBA Awards". nba.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.