The celebration of the NBA’s 75th anniversary season has brought the word legacy to the forefront when discussing the impact that players, teams, coaches and leaders have had on the game of basketball.
The legacy of Stephen Curry, who on Tuesday broke the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a career, cementing his legacy as the greatest shooter of all time and how he has changed the game with his long-range shooting, launching a 3-point revolution.
The legacy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell, not only as the players with the most points and most championships in league history, respectively, but as leaders in the fight for civil rights in the United States both during and following their playing careers. A legacy that has been followed by today’s players, who are using their voices on social justice issues.
The legacy of NBA Cares, an initiative started in 2005 to bring the league’s community efforts under one umbrella, to maximize the impact that the teams and players of this league – seen as idols and icons around the world – have off the court, to help them be more than athletes and entertainers, but leaders in their communities and across the globe.
On Thursday, the NBA announced a league-wide initiative to create and dedicate more than 50 new Live, Learn or Play Centers throughout the league’s anniversary season – including projects led by all 30 NBA teams and in regions around the world where the league has a presence such as Africa, Asia Pacific, Canada, China, Europe & Middle East, India, Latin America and Mexico. The new NBA 75th Live, Learn or Play initiative will continue the league’s legacy of supporting and uniting communities globally through basketball, including the dedication of the 2,000th NBA Cares Live, Learn or Play Center during NBA All-Star 2022 in Cleveland. That’s an average of over 120 Live, Learn or Play centers created each year since the first was unveiled on Nov. 20, 2005 in New York City.
In addition to each NBA team working in their respective communities to create new Live, Learn or Play Centers, there are three league-led legacy projects that will be completed this season. The first of those projects tips off today in New Orleans – the birthplace of NBA Cares 16 years ago.
“New Orleans really is in some ways the home of NBA Cares; following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina was when we launched NBA Cares,” said Kathy Behrens, the NBA’s President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs. “Behind then Commissioner David Stern, and at Adam (Silver)’s urging, we created NBA Cares to not only focus on what we could do specifically in New Orleans, but really an idea around creating these legacy projects. We knew that communities needed places where kids and families could live learn or play. Now, with New Orleans devastated again this summer with storms, we thought this was an opportunity to kind of go home.”
Working with Rebuilding Together’s Disaster Readiness and Recovery program – which has served New Orleans for more than 30 years by providing disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and long-term recovery support to families and communities affected by natural disasters – NBA Cares and Kaiser Permanente will refurbish the Livingston Collegiate Academy High School outdoor basketball court and three homes in New Orleans East in need of critical repairs following Hurricane Ida in August 2021.
“We are so happy to be working with the NBA again. It’s been a wonderful partnership over a number of years with NBA Cares,” said Caroline Blakely, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together.
“We’ve done six cities with [the NBA] during All-Star games. More than 1,000 volunteers have come out and helped us; 10,000 hours have been spent working; and more than $1.4 million in market value improvements have gone into these neighborhoods that we’ve gone into. For this event, we’re very happy to go back to the neighborhood we started with, which is New Orleans. We’re doing three homes and a basketball court, and really looking forward it.”
In addition to the work being done in New Orleans and the 2,000th Live, Learn or Play center to be unveiled in Cleveland during NBA All-Star, the league will dedicate a third space in Los Angeles this spring focused on environmental impact to complete the 75th anniversary initiative.
“We always wanted to make sure that our presence wasn’t just about one day, one visit or one game, but that would always be something that could be left behind,” said Behrens. “It certainly has been challenging over the years to do these projects on a on a global basis, but I think they have been extraordinarily impactful.”
The spirit of giving back to the community is in the DNA of the NBA and predates the launch of NBA Cares in 2005. When Jason Collins entered the league in 2001 with the New Jersey Nets, the team had community service personnel that helped Collins find a cause he cared about.
“They would come to us and say, ‘What are your passion projects?’” said Collins, who now serves as an NBA Cares Ambassador. “Because when you are really passionate about whether it’s giving back to children or giving back to health care or whatever it is, it just makes it more authentic connection. And there are so many great partnerships and events that we do that it can really tie in easily and authentically with our players.”
For Collins, he was passionate about volunteering at children’s hospitals. His godmother worked at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and when Collins was in high school, he would visit the kids at the hospital and spend time with them. So, when he made it to the NBA, he continued that work, helping put smiles on children’s faces when they get to meet and hang out with an NBA player.
While a visit with a child in a hospital may only last a few minutes, or the work or refurbishing a home or building a basketball court may only last a few days, the impact of these actions can be felt by the people and the communities for years to come.
“I remember we were having these amazing NBA Finals between the Warriors and Cavs and knowing that each time the NBA and our partners go into these communities and build a new center, or refurbish a center and knowing that they will be used for years to come … It doesn’t necessarily matter who wins or loses, but this center will be there forever, it will go on providing for the community.”
Collins may not have a future in home flipping, but he remembers how proud he and his team of volunteers was when they build a school lunch table from scratch during NBA All-Star in New Orleans – that they created something (sturdy enough to hold Collins’ weight – he sat on the table to test their work) that kids would use for years to come. He’s also been part of the NBA’s international events as well.
“I remember going to Angola and building a basketball court,” he said. “Just being there and seeing it go from a dirt court, then having a sport court put on it, to give the kids easy access to the game. We provided the court, the hoops and the ball, so these kids will be able to play basketball over there. It was really cool to see how it started from one thing, and now is another.”
Behrens – who calls the global growth of the game a “hallmark of the NBA’s 75 years” – recalls a trip to South Africa that she took with Joel Embiid, who was a participant in Basketball Without Borders while growing up in Cameroon and is now a four-time All-Star for the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I was with Joel in South Africa, when we were doing one of the Africa Games and just to see his the joy on his face as he was helping to build homes there in South Africa, and that that’s not where he’s from, but he knew the kind of impact he was having,” said Behrens. “And I’ve seen that in local communities here in the United States, and I’ve seen it around the world, and it’s fantastic to see.
“It’s something that we will continue to do and celebrate for the 100th [anniversary] and 150th [anniversary] and all those events and milestones to come that we won’t be around for. I know this will always be part of what the NBA does.”
