The holiday season serves as an opportunity for people to do a whole lot of things, something that is doubly true this year as we take some time to be a little more appreciative of what we have in the face of a global pandemic. Today, we want to take a chance to celebrate the basketball players who use their platforms to help those who could use a helping hand.
In this episode of Dime Breakdowns, we decided to highlight a handful of individuals from the NBA and the WNBA. People like Russell Westbrook and Bismack Biyombo have their own charities through which they look to uplift others — Westbrook has done a laundry list of acts, like partnering with The Angelino Campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Biyombo helps children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the Bismack Biyombo Foundation.
Others, like Jrue Holiday and Patty Mills, took their salaries from the NBA’s Orlando Bubble and put them towards organizations that help Black and Brown communities — Holiday and his wife, Lauren, started their own fund with money going towards New Orleans, Los Angeles, Compton, and Indianapolis, while Mills’ money went towards charities in Australia. And of course, there is the remarkable story of Maya Moore, who has taken a leave from the WNBA to help a wrongfully incarcerated man named Jonathan Irons get his conviction overturned through more than a year of hard work.
These five players are just a microcosm of the numerous NBA and WNBA players who see individuals in need and make it a point to lend a helping hand. The world of basketball is filled with these sorts of folks, and with it being the holiday season, we wanted to shout a handful of them out for their efforts.
