The John Bunn Award—in full, the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award—is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to an individual who has contributed significantly to the sport of basketball. Named after John Bunn, the first chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame Committee from 1949 to 1969, the award is the highest and the most prestigious honor presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame other than enshrinement.[1][2]
| * | Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Year | Recipient | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | John Bunn* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1964 |
| 1974 | John Wooden* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a player in 1960 and a coach as 1973 |
| 1975 | J. Walter Kennedy* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1981 |
| 1976 | Henry P. Iba* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a coach in 1969 |
| 1977 | Cliff Fagan* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1984 |
| 1978 | Curt Gowdy | Another Hall of Fame award, the Curt Gowdy Media Award, is named after him |
| 1979 | Eddie Gottlieb* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1972 |
| 1980 | Arnold "Red" Auerbach* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a coach in 1969 |
| 1981 | Ray Meyer* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a coach in 1979 |
| 1982 | Danny Biasone* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2000 |
| 1983 | Robert J. Cousy* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a player in 1971 Another Hall of Fame award, the Bob Cousy Award, is named after him |
| 1984 | Lawrence F. O'Brien* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1991 |
| 1985 | Lee Williams | |
| 1986 | Grady W. Lewis | |
| 1987 | Dave R. Gavitt* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2006 |
| 1988 | Haskell Hillyard | |
| 1989 | George E. Killian | |
| 1990 | Pat Head Summitt* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000 |
| 1991 | Morgan B. Wootten* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000 |
| 1992 | Will Robinson | |
| 1993 | Joe Vancisin | |
| 1994 | Bill Wall | |
| 1995 | P. J. Carlesimo | |
| 1996 | Vic Bubas | |
| 1997 | C. M. Newton* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2000 |
| 1998 | Tex Winter* | Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2011 |
| 1999 | Harlem Globetrotters* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a team in 2002 |
| 2000 | Meadowlark Lemon* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2003 |
| 2001 | Tom Jernstedt* | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2017 |
| 2002 | Harvey Pollack | |
| 2003 | Joe O'Brien | |
| 2004 | Zelda Spoelstra | |
| 2005 | Marty Blake | |
| 2006 | Betty Jaynes | |
| 2007 | Thomas "Satch" Sanders | Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2011 |
| 2008 | Val Ackerman | Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2021 |
| 2009 | Johnny Kerr | |
| 2010 | Don Meyer[3] | |
| 2011 | Brian McIntyre[4] | |
| 2012 | Pat Williams[5] | |
| 2013 | George Raveling[6] | Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2015.[7] |
| 2014 | Alvin Attles[8] | Inducted to the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2019 |
| 2015 | Rod Thorn[9] | Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2018. |
| 2016 | Jim Delany[10] | |
| 2017 | Michael Goldberg[11] | |
| Donald Rowe[11] | ||
| 2018 | Jim Host[12] | |
| Harley Redin[12] | ||
| 2019 | Harry Glickman[13] | |
| Del Harris[13] | Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2022. | |
| 2020 | Timothy Nugent[14] | |
| 2021 | Carol Stiff[15] | |
| 2022 | Reggie Minton[16] |