With the NBA Lockout dragging on, many fans, like me, are grasping for any NBA news. Since NBA teams are not allowed to report on players’ activities during the summer, I decided to find out what many of the players have been up during their vacation. With all of the bad things that are often attributed to NBA players, I only looked for positive things and was not surprised to find many:
Spread Goodwill – many players choose the off season as a time to give back to the communities from which they are from:
Carmelo Anthony and the “The Carmelo Anthony Foundation” dedicated its second basketball court in Puerto Rico as part of the Courts 4 Kids program Miami Heats LeBron James, Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant, New York Knick Carmelo Anthony and New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul recently played in a summer league game arranged by Carmelo Anthony in his hometown Baltimore, Md., at HBCU Morgan State University. Phoenix Sun Steve Nash was presented the prestigious Sport for Social Change Award at the French Cultural Embassy in Manhattan for his work with Street Soccer USA
Jumped the Broom – Several players decided to make their girlfriends real-life Basketball Wives
Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry married his college sweetheart, Ayesha Alexander You may not have heard but New Jersey Net, Kris Humphries married public figure Kim Kardashian Charlotte Bobcat Tyrus Thomas married his longtime love Jamie Collins.
Dance with the Stars??!
Since his NBA career began, Ron Artest has been labeled many things: eccentric, crazy, volatile, offbeat and hard working player. Now we can also refer to him as a dancer because the L.A. Lakers forward signed on to star Season 13 of Dancing with the Stars. Unlike many of the past “stars” that have danced, Artest is not doing it for popularity, money or career resurgence; he’s doing it to raise money for cancer research because his 8-year-old daughter Diamond, who beat cancer at age 4, asked him to do so.
Furthering their Education- NBA players are often criticized, unlike in other sports, for leaving college early, a few decided to use their time off to improve their education
First pick in the 2011 NBA Draft Kyrie Irving headed back to Duke University Stephen Curry is returned to Davidson as a full-time student Kevin Love, Baron Davis and Trevor Ariza they decided to return to UCLA
It’s been a busy summer for the NBA ballers and as much as I enjoyed finding out how they spent their vacations, I am ready for them to get back to work. The fans have already lost the Las Vegas Summer League and we are now in danger of losing the NBA pre-season as well. Let’s end the lockout soon, before I go searching for their favorite foods!
Sources:
www.nba.com
www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com
http://basketball-n-ent.com
http://www.carmelocares.org/main.asp
http://www.sbnation.com
www.espn.com/