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What stands out most in Gordon’s already one-of-a-kind warehouse gym home are the celebrity icons from different genres. Many are no longer with us. Gordon chose each specifically for daily motivation. A young Obama smoking marijuana. Einstein. Athletes including Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Tony Hawk, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Pele, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Jackie Robinson. Dancer Josephine Baker. Actor and martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Musicians Billie Holliday, Prince, Lauryn Hill, Miles Davis, Bob Marley, Jimmy Hendrix, B.B. King, Notorious B.I.G., Nipsey Hussle, Michael Jackson and Mac Miller. Olympic activists John Carlos and Tommie Smith. Comedian Richard Pryor. Actor Heath Ledger. Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Civil rights activist and Muslim minister Malcolm X. Filmmaker Spike Lee. Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Antiapartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Legendary sports journalist Stuart Scott. Poet Maya Angelou. “I got everybody there from Muhammad Ali to Bruce Lee,” Aaron Gordon said. “You have greatness looking at you. You can’t be [joking around]. It makes you want to not bulls—.”
Time will tell if Gentry is still the head coach of the Kings by the time he turns 68 on Nov. 5, 2022. Regardless of whether the Shelby, North Carolina, native is with Sacramento or elsewhere, he will always be appreciative of his time in the NBA that began in 1989 as an assistant coach under Larry Brown with the San Antonio Spurs. “Look at how the league in general has grown and what [former NBA commissioner] David Stern did to this league and how he made it so globally,” Gentry said. “I remember taking a trip to Africa [with] me, Wes Unseld and Alex English, and David Stern went. And we went to South Africa. We had dinner with Nelson Mandela. We did things like that that you could only dream of as a kid from Shelby, North Carolina.
Is this project, though, bigger than basketball in Africa and Nigeria? Obviously, you want to advance the basketball programme, but knowing you, I think there's a little bit more to it than just that… Mike Brown: For me, being African American, there's no better connection for me than a country in Africa and especially Nigeria. There's a quote from Nelson Mandela: “The world will not respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect. The black people of the world need Nigeria to be great as a source of pride and confidence.” That's our rallying cry. That's our slogan. Obviously, we all know who Nelson Mandela is. We all know what he meant, not just to South Africa, but to the world, and in particular, all of Africa.
Marc J. Spears: Raptors President Masai Ujiri will honour late South African President Nelson Mandela, on Thursday by hosting a youth summit with the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children & Social Development in Toronto. The focus will be on encouraging youth to “Be the Change.”
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But more surreal were the ways in which Bol reminded Madut of their father, Manute Bol, the tallest person to ever play in the NBA and one of the league’s great humanitarians. An admirer called him the “Muhammad Ali or Nelson Mandela of his time” for all he had done in South Sudan. “You can look right at (Bol) and tell,” Madut says. “Just the way he walks. People say the same thing to me: ‘You walk like your dad.’ I don’t see it because I’m not looking at me walking. But seeing him walk, he walks just like Dad. Smiles like Dad. Just looks exactly like him.” After the game, Madut drove home without talking to Bol.
The Milwaukee Bucks swingman has been involved previously in international coaching programs, in the Philippines and Australia, where he headlined the Basketball Without Borders Asia camp in Melbourne three years ago, and he says NBA players recognize the need to give back to the game that makes them headline attractions. "This isn't a job for us," Middleton says of his attendance of the program that officially 'embodies Nelson Mandela's' legacy and belief that sport can inspire and change the world.'
"Each and every one of us has been through something. We've been scouted, we've been around NBA players, NBA cultures that's helped us get to that next level, so it's very nice to be in a position where I can do the same," Middleton says. "We have to give back. We have to try to grow the game. We have to try to make the game better than it was when we came in ... it's a great job to have to try to spread the game, to spread joy, to help anybody out."
The Greece-born Antetokounmpo is the son of immigrants from Nigeria, while Maker made his way to the NBA from the war zone in South Sudan via Australia, the Carlisle School in Martinsville, Virginia, and Canada. "Giannis is definitely proud about his Nigerian heritage, with his mother and father being from there and immigrating to Greece, and ... Thon's a guy who's bounced all over the world. Thon's been through a lot, and he came out alive. Looking at these kids and knowing that one of them could be the next Thon Maker or Giannis Antetokounmpo is great," Middleton says.
Tarik Black: I have a lot of fond memories of my adventures volunteering for the museum for its various events. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Paul Rusesabagina at the annual Freedom Awards (an awards gala the museum has every year to celebrate national and international touchstones of philanthropy and people who fight against social injustice). When I was 12 years old or so, I was attending the Freedom Awards as an aspiring athlete watching Magic Johnson speak about his works in giving back. He spoke of his basketball legacy as a vehicle and platform to reach those who are in need. He told of how basketball did not define him but enabled his greater calling of philanthropy. That inspired me so much and has been my creed since I’ve flourished in basketball.
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Josh Lewenberg: Masai Ujiri hosted his 4th annual Giant of Africa event to honour Nelson Mandela this AM, an event near and dear to his heart. We've all seen him get fired up (F Brooklyn!), but nothing compares to how passionate/emotional he gets when talking about his hero/home. Powerful stuff.
“He’s not gone anywhere, and that’s what I am trying to preach,” said Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri. Gone but not forgotten was the sentiment of the second annual Nelson Mandela night held by Ujiri and his not-for-profit organization “Giants of Africa” at the Air Canada Centre where the Raptors took on and lost to the undefeated Golden State Warriors. The event celebrated Mandela’s life, legacy and ability to inspire change especially through the use of sport to unite the world.
Drake, David Beckham, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley are expected to attend Friday’s game against Cleveland in Toronto that will promote the Giants of Africa foundation, which uses basketball to educate and enrich African youth. Toronto will host a pregame fundraiser, and the Raptors will wear shooting shirts honoring Nelson Mandela.
In an attempt to channel Mandela’s ideals of inclusion and equality in sports, the Orlando Magic are making great attempts to recognize others from different cultures and backgrounds. Just as the franchise and Chase have both been committed to multicultural efforts in the past, hosting Noche Latina Night and Black History Month activities, the Magic will join with the Indian American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) on Jan. 19 for the second annual India Day presented by Chase. The IACC executive committee includes President Tino Patel, Varesh Patel, Yog Melwani, Jay Shah, Beena Parikh and Sanjay Srinivasan.
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