Brooklyn Nets guard Wayne Ellington received the 2015-16 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association for his work in the community following the tragic death of his father in 2014. Ellington's father, Wayne Sr., was shot and killed in Philadelphia.

Ellington has since stepped up his efforts to prevent gun-related violence. On Sept. 21, 2015, he was the featured speaker at Peace Day Philly's "March for Peace" before a crowd of schoolchildren, some of whom had lost loved ones to gun violence. That same month, he also participated in running the fourth annual Chicago Peace League Basketball Tournament.

In August, Ellington plans to host the Philadelphia Peace Games, in which rival gang members in the city will come together for a basketball game played on a court built with "Power of W.E." messaging. Ellington had also donated 2,000 tickets for youth organizations to attend Nets games this past season.

"[My father] meant a lot," Ellington said in February. "You only get one father, and the father-son relationship is a little bit different from any other relationship. I'm the only boy in my family, so it was a great bond we had, and I'm going to carry it on. He's going to live on through me."

Ellington took to Twitter to further express his gratitude.