Before current basketball stars took to the court for the new-look NBA All-Star Game(s), the San Francisco Bay Area experienced five days of incredible activities. There was a distinct WNBA presence, not only in the past and present players in attendance, but in the WNBA Housewarming activation for the Golden State Valkyries, the new WNBA franchise that begins play this spring.
Of particular note were the numerous activities reflective of youth basketball, community impact, and celebration of the diversity of the sport. The event kicked off with the NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service, which included NBA and WNBA players. Among other events were a Jr. WNBA Clinic, NBA Foundation All-Star pitch competition (startup companies pitching their businesses to a panel of judges, including former Los Angeles Sparks player Chiney Ogwumike), and the high-energy NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T between the Morehouse College and Tuskegee University men’s basketball teams.
“We’re a basketball league and we felt like we have a unique role to play when thinking about the health of our fans, and specifically thinking about the interconnectivity of our physical health, our mental health, and community health,” said Barbara Bush, NBA vice president of social impact, shortly after participating in Sunday’s inaugural NBA Total Health All-Star Walk.
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NBA’s Total Health platform partners with various organizations that have tools for making a plan toward health and wellbeing. WNBA and Olympic champion Lisa Leslie participated in the All-Star Walk alongside about 1,000 walkers for a 3-mile walk through Golden Gate Park.
“Today’s focus was joy and movement,” said Bush. “We’re trying to bring the community together to walk alongside each other as we take steps to bettering our health. [Lisa Leslie] spoke about what brings her joy, and one of the things that brings her joy is moving. We had women and men of all ages, all shapes and all sizes joining us, and most of us will not be like Lisa Leslie — we won’t play at such an elite level, but to walk alongside someone like her is inspiring.”
Putting together more than a dozen events with social impact, including a Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) clinic about the intersection of sports and STEM — takes a community.
“We had a unique opportunity to shine our spotlight on organizations that are showing up for communities in San Francisco and Oakland every single day,” said Bush.