How NBA Stars And Teams Helped Their Communities Before Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here, and for many it’s the opportunity to celebrate family and friends with a bountiful feast shared among loved ones.

However, for those less fortunate, Thanksgiving (and the rest of the holiday season) can be a stressful time, as they try to provide a similar meal and experience without necessarily having the means to do so. Many players and teams around the NBA used the week before Thanksgiving to give back to their communities and try to ease some of that stress by putting on dinners for members of their community or giving away turkeys and side dishes so families can host dinner without having to worry about the cost. Below you can see some of the numerous ways those around the NBA gave back leading into the holiday.

Russell Westbrook’s foundation hosted 800 families in need in Los Angeles for his eighth annual Thanksgiving dinner, where he was joined by James Harden and others to help serve food and meet with the families — Harden’s foundation also hosted dinners for over 250 at local Houston churches this week.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1199364692398862336

The Heat hosted their Thanksgiving Celebration at the Miami Rescue Mission, giving away hundreds of turkey baskets, hot meals, and more to the Miami community.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1196972004810862595

The Thunder visited Positive Tomorrows, a school for homeless children in OKC, to serve lunch an interact with the kids at their Thanksgiving Carnival.

In Brooklyn, Jarrett Allen hosted his third straight Meals + Math Thanksgiving, where he worked with 25 local kids to put together a Thanksgiving meal on a $100 budget to help them work on budgeting and math, along with providing them with food for a big meal.

Zach LaVine gave out 500 turkeys and sides to those in need in Chicago.

The Lakers hosted their annual Turkey Feast last week, providing food and activities for over 250 people in the community.

The Grizzlies gave away 800 boxes of non-perishable food and other household items to families in need at their Season of Giving event in Memphis.

Victor Oladipo and the Pacers hosted their Come To Our House event where they served local families Thanksgiving dinner.

Jrue Holiday of the Pelicans hosted his annual Turkey Day with Holiday event, as he gave 75 families in need supplies for a full turkey dinner.

John Wall and Bradley Beal hosted a turkey giveaway in D.C. that gave away more than 1,000 turkeys.