Gonzaga center Massamba Diop has landed on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List, with the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame unveiling its 20 candidates Friday in Springfield, Mass.
The annual award, now in its 13th year, is named for Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and recognizes the top centers in men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel selected the watch list.
Diop, a Rufisque, Senegal, native, arrived at Gonzaga after a freshman season at Arizona State in which he put up 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He started all 33 games for the Sun Devils, shot 56.9 percent from the field and finished with 69 blocked shots, a total that ranked second in the Big 12 and third nationally among freshmen. He also added 36 steals and 38 assists.
Abdul-Jabbar’s own college résumé remains the standard: he played for John Wooden at UCLA from 1966-1969 and won three NCAA championships. His list of honors includes three Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards, three National College Player of the Year honors and three Consensus First-Team All-American selections from 1967-69.
Fan voting begins today, and the field will be trimmed in stages over the next few months. In February, the 20-man watch list becomes 10, then five in March.
Those five finalists will be sent to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame selection committee in late March, when the winner is chosen. The selection committee includes media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The 2027 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winner will be announced on a to-be-determined date along with the rest of the Men’s Starting Five. The other awards in that group are the Bob Cousy Award for point guards, the Jerry West Award for shooting guards, the Julius Erving Award for small forwards and the Karl Malone Award for power forwards.
Previous Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winners include Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton in 2025, Zach Edey of Purdue in 2023-24, Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky in 2022, Luka Garza of Iowa in 2020-21, Ethan Happ of Wisconsin in 2019, Angel Delgado of Seton Hall in 2018 and Przemek Karnowski of Gonzaga in 2017.
The full 2026-27 watch list also includes Motiejus Krivas of Arizona, Oswin Erhunmwunse of Creighton, Patrick Ngongba II of Duke, Rueben Chinyelu of Florida, Marcis Ponder of FSU, Tomislav Ivišić of Illinois, Andrew McKeever of Iowa, Malachi Moreno of Kentucky, Flory Bidunga of Louisville, Sananda Fru of Marquette, Pharrel Payne of Maryland, Somo Cyril of Miami, Moustapha Thiam of Michigan, Daniel Jacobsen of Purdue, Jaden Toombs of SMU, Matas Vokietaitis of Texas, Luigi Suigo of Villanova, Johann Grünloh of Virginia and Nolan Winter of Wisconsin.
In Other News...
Gonzaga Is Still Waiting On A Key Addition Before Purdue
Gonzaga is still waiting on a late roster addition to clear the final hurdle before its matchup with Purdue, and the latest legal setback has only made the path murkier. A Texas judge denied the temporary restraining order that forward Chauncey Wiggins and other players were seeking in their push to gain eligibility through lawsuits filed in Texas, leaving his status unchanged for the Bulldogs as the game approaches.
Wiggins remains ineligible for Gonzaga at the moment and is expected to miss Mondays game against Purdue. The door is not necessarily closed on his season, though, as he could still look to continue the fight in another jurisdiction if he wants another shot at getting cleared. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga's Frontcourt Picture Just Got More Interesting Before Purdue
Gonzagas exhibition win over Lewis-Clark State offered a useful early look at how the frontcourt might shake out as Purdue approaches, and two names stood out in particular. Massamba Diop and Parker Jefferson both found ways to make an impact in the 91-59 rout, giving Mark Few a little more to sort through as the rotation takes shape.
Diop, who had to navigate early foul trouble, looked more comfortable as the game went on and gave the Bulldogs a glimpse of his upside. Jefferson also made his case with a strong all-around showing, finishing as one of the more productive bigs on the floor and reinforcing why his role in the frontcourt picture could matter once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga Women Suddenly Have Expectations This Program Has To Answer
Gonzaga womens basketball is carrying a little more offseason buzz than usual, and a big part of it starts with the coach. Lisa Fortier has landed on the preseason watchlist for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Award, a nod that puts her among the coaches being tracked as the best in the mid-major game and adds another layer of expectation around a program that already knows how to win.
The roster is drawing attention, too, with Lauren Whittaker earning preseason watchlist mention on the national awards circuit and junior guard Allie Turner coming off an All-West Coast Conference first-team season plus tournament honors. Turner and Whittaker are set to share the floor again, giving Gonzaga a foundation that looks capable of meeting the spotlight, even as the exact ceiling for this group still has to play out once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]