In 2009, en route to a total of five national titles and the most wins of all time, now-retired Duke Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski won the NABC Metropolitan Award, currently named annually since 1941, to recognize long and outstanding service in men’s college hoops. .

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But in a way, Coach K, 77, won the trophy a second time – this time, however, in an eternal sense.

On Monday, the NABC announced that it would now be named after the Hall of Fame. So, starting from the 2025 edition, the winner will receive the NABC Mike Krzyzewski Award.

“The NABC is proud to celebrate excellence on the field and impact off the field – two characteristics that Mike Krzyzewski has embodied for decades,” NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson said in the press release. “Renaming this honor in honor of Coach K will further enhance the prestigious reputation of this award and is a fitting tribute to one of the most influential figures in sports history.”

It may take Krzyzewski’s successor, Jon Scheyer, 37, another decade or more to rack up enough accomplishments to land his own NABC Mike Krzyzewski Award. After all, even though Scheyer won a national championship with the Blue Devils both as a player (2010) and an assistant (2015), he’s only in his third season at the Durham helm.

Scheyer’s 2024-25 Duke basketball team, No. 7 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, kicks off its campaign against Maine on Coach K Court at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m. ET Monday (ACC Network).

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