Shaquille O’Neal To Receive ‘Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Of The Year’ Award

The Muhammad Ali Center will bestow NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal with the organization’s highest honor in November when he is named the 2024 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year.

The Louisville, Kentucky-based organization is handing Shaq the 11th annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Philanthropically, Shaquille O’Neal has raised millions of dollars for charity. He is a national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and his relationship dates back to his youth in New Jersey. He is also a National Board of Directors for Communities in Schools member. In 2019, Shaquille established The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation, which creates pathways for underserved youth to help them achieve their full potential. The Foundation works to instill hope and bring about change in communities, collectively shaping a brighter future for our children,” according to the Muhammad Ali Center.

The Inside the NBA commentator will join other individuals who will be honored that night, including Grammy-Award-winning music producer Niles Rodgers, who will be receiving the Global Citizenship Award; public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, who will take home the Lifetime Achievement honors, and award-winning journalist, Dawne Gee, who will be honored as Kentucky Humanitarian.

The honors are labeled the Seasoned Awards, which honor people who have dedicated “a significant portion of their lives to humanitarianism.” The Muhammad Ali Center will also present the Six Core Principles Awards, which are given to young adults 30 years of age or younger. The people being honored match one of Muhammad Ali’s Six Core Principles: Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality.

Those individuals are Deja Foxx, Sophia Kianni, Shah Chowdhury and Mohammad Yasir, Lianna Genovese, Richa Gupta, and Charlot Magayi.

The Muhammad Ali Center launched the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards (MAHA) in 2013. It was developed to honor and mirror the celebrated former heavyweight boxing champion’s lifelong humanitarianism and to celebrate a new generation of others who perform similar work for the communities.