Vote for the 2020-21 NBA Cares Seasonlong Community Assist Award

The NBA is delighted to declare the ten contenders for the 2020-21 Season NBA Cares Community Assist Award, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. Each of these athletes has demonstrated an exceptional dedication to their community and a positive influence beyond the basketball court.

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Below are the nominees.

DeAndre’ Bembry

Benefiting Charity: AP World

Since his NBA career began, DeAndre’ Bembry has been committed to philanthropic activities. He established the AP World organization in honor of his brother Adrien, who tragically lost his life to gun violence just weeks before the 2016 NBA Draft. The organization focuses on promoting safer communities and offering resources to families to help them cope with and surpass grief.

Throughout the year, DeAndre’ has been actively involved with AP World. His contributions include providing Thanksgiving meals for families, partnering with Operation Warm to provide brand new coats for needy children in Toronto, and giving away 500 pairs of new shoes to the Boys & Girls Club Youth in Indianapolis in February, in collaboration with Shoes that Fit. Additionally, Bembry shared his personal experiences and advocated for gun safety during a virtual roundtable discussion with an all-athletes panel, ahead of National Gun Violence Survivors week in early February.

In April, DeAndre’ took part in a virtual assembly for Toronto’s Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program. This initiative aims to eradicate bullying, discrimination, and racism by fostering a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion. It also empowers students to act. Bembry’s online presentation was streamed to thousands of young people in 100 schools across Ontario. The goal was to teach students how to navigate through tough times and emerge stronger.

Bembry is joining a Wear Orange virtual panel to share his family’s experience on June 4, as part of the 7th Annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day. His dedication to safety in the face of gun violence is unwavering and inspiring. It is commendable how he has transformed a tragic event into a foundation that assists other families dealing with grief.

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Devin Booker

Benefiting Charity: Phoenix Suns Charities

In recognition of his ongoing support to youth and families in the greater Phoenix area, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was awarded the May NBA Cares Community Assist Award, presented by Kaiser Permanente.

In May, during a Suns home game, Booker unexpectedly announced that five local nonprofit organizations were the 2020-21 class of the Devin Booker Starting Five initiative. The announcement was made through an in-game, pre-recorded message. The chosen organizations, Arizona Autism United, Central Arizona Shelter Services, YMCA of Southern Arizona, GAP Ministries, and Elevate Phoenix, each received a $100,000 grant from Booker. The funds are intended to address the financial challenges posed by the pandemic and to support the organizations’ efforts to improve local youth and families’ lives. To further honor and support the 2020-21 class, Booker and Phoenix Suns Charities released a limited-edition Devin Booker Starting Five hoodie, which showcased the selected nonprofits. Designed by Booker himself, these unique hoodies were available for a limited time, with all proceeds going to Phoenix Suns Charities.

The Devin Booker Starting Five, which contributes an annual donation of $500,000 to five different Arizona-based youth-serving nonprofits, has outlined the second cohort of organizations. Over five years, the initiative will donate a total of $2.5 million. The inaugural recipients – Special Olympics Arizona, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, UMOM New Day Centers, and Ability 360 – received their $100,000 grants in late 2019. In addition to the Starting Five initiative, Booker has made significant contributions to the Valley’s youth and families through COVID-19 relief efforts and holiday shopping sprees. Furthermore, as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador, he is a vocal advocate for inclusion via sport.

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Joel Embiid

Benefiting Charity: Covenant House Pennsylvania

In March, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid received the Community Assist Award. This came after his fourth consecutive naming as an NBA All-Star starter. Embiid continued his fight against homelessness in Philadelphia during that month by donating $100,000 to three local organizations: Youth Services Inc., Project HOME, and Sunday Breakfast Mission. Additionally, he supplied 15,000 meals to those in need, 4,000 necessary clothing items, and medical treatment for 1,000 individuals with housing instability. He also facilitated access to a six-week summer camp for 50 homeless youth and provided shelter for over 300 housing insecure teenagers.

Embiid demonstrated his support for local community members by helping five families severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He provided each family with gifts, clothes, groceries, and a year’s worth of rent relief.

Over the past year, a large portion of Embiid’s community contributions have been centered on COVID-19 relief. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Embiid collaborated with Josh Harris and David Blitzer, 76ers Managing Partners, to donate $1.3 million to Penn Medicine. This donation was targeted at developing antibody tests for frontline health workers. In continuation of his support for these workers, he committed $500,000 through the #FirstRespondersFirst campaign. This campaign, a joint initiative by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Thrive Global and the CAA Foundation, aims to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontline workers.

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Jrue Holiday

Benefiting Charity: The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund

Jrue Holiday, a guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, and Josh Richardson, a guard for the Dallas Mavericks, jointly received the January NBA Cares Community Assist Award, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.

After becoming part of the Bucks in November, Jrue and Lauren Holiday collaborated with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation to pinpoint small businesses owned by women and Black individuals that required aid the most. Upon evaluating grant applications, the Holiday family disclosed in January that they would be funding seven local businesses – Amri Counseling Services, Carter’s Quality Care, Hands at Home, Jamaican Season Island Restaurant, Kid’s Kingdom, Legacy Home Health Services, and The SW Retreat. These businesses offer a range of services in southeastern Wisconsin, such as assisted living, home health, childcare, mental health and substance abuse services, hospitality, and more.

Holiday has committed to helping communities that are significant to him in the long run. This includes his pledge to dedicate the rest of his 2020 NBA salary to the creation of The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Fund. This fund aims to fight systemic racism and promote economic equality by providing financial aid and support to Black-led organizations and businesses. Earlier in the season, the fund declared its support for 25 non-profit organizations and historically Black institutions, along with 23 Black-owned small businesses in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Indianapolis.

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Damian Lillard

Benefiting Charity: Special Olympics Oregon

Damian Lillard, a guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, was recognized for his ongoing efforts to empower Portland’s youth. He received the April NBA Cares Community Assist Award, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.

Since his arrival in Portland in 2012, Lillard has been actively investing in and mentoring local high school students through his RESPECT program. This initiative supports, encourages, and celebrates students from three Portland-area high schools – McDaniel, Parkrose, and Roosevelt. In response to the global pandemic and the shift to virtual learning, RESPECT has adapted to continue engaging with the students. Lillard has stayed connected with the participants through video visits and has used his social media platforms to spotlight students and teachers who embody the values of the program. As schools transition back to in-person learning, he has provided RESPECT-branded face masks for all students and staff involved in the program.

Lillard introduced a special RESPECT edition of his Dame7 shoe, exclusively for students in the program. Only 500 pairs were made, featuring the colors of McDaniel, Parkrose and Roosevelt schools, and embodying the three RESPECT principles: Show Up, Work Hard, and Be Kind. The shoes were given as gifts to RESPECT’s partner schools to reward students who embody these principles. Lillard wore these sneakers several times during the season. Besides RESPECT, he continued his ambassador role for the Moda Assist Program, a partnership with Moda Health and the Trail Blazers. This program donates $20 for each assist made during the season to fund the creation of all-ability inclusive playgrounds across Oregon. This year, the funds will be used to help build an all-abilities playground in the city of Astoria, enhancing their community.

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Patty Mills

Benefiting Charity: Urban Indigenous Health

San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills took home the February NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in recognition of his continued efforts to create opportunities that empower Indigenous young people and advance social justice in his native Australia.

In February, the first-ever Indigenous Community Basketball League (ICBL) for players aged 14 and under was launched by Indigenous Basketball Australia, a foundation created by Mills to promote basketball among Aboriginal Australians. The league, which took place in eight locations across Australia, incorporated Indigenous cultural celebrations and aimed to develop basketball skills and life skills, emphasizing mental and physical health and individual identity reinforcement during an important age. Additionally, Mills, in collaboration with the NBA and Jr. NBA, announced the National Indigenous Basketball Tournament (NIBT), set to take place on the Gold Coast in Queensland from April 11-13. This tournament will offer extra development opportunities, both on and off the court, for 48 boys and girls.

Mills has devoted a significant portion of his professional career in the United States to philanthropic work in Australia, particularly aimed at empowering Indigenous youth and communities of color. He made a generous donation of his remaining 2019-20 season salary to social justice organizations in 2020 and initiated the ‘We Got You’ campaign with other renowned Australian athletes, aimed at eradicating racism, exclusion, and discrimination in sports. Following the catastrophic Australian bushfires earlier that year, Mills also coordinated a collective donation of $750,000 from nine Australian NBA players.

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Donovan Mitchell

Benefiting Charity: Children’s Village

Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, a guard, was honored with the Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award. This award, presented by Kaiser Permanente, acknowledged his ongoing work to promote social justice and education during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 NBA seasons.

In December, the Mitchell family made a $12 million donation to Greenwich Country Day School, the alma mater of Donovan and Jordan Mitchell, where their mother, Nicole, taught for over ten years. This donation, the largest in the school’s history, will be used to establish the Mitchell Family Scholarship Fund to support students from pre-K-12th grade. Additionally, the funds will create the Nicole Mitchell Faculty Support Fund to aid teachers who share Nicole’s passion for teaching, and fund the new D.O.N.! The Determination Over Negativity Mitchell Family Athletic Center. Last summer, Mitchell donated the profits from his Adidas D.O.N. Issue #2 sneakers to the education of Jacob Blake’s children, students of color at the University of Louisville, and teachers in Connecticut and the Bronx preschools. This contributed over $300,000 towards scholarships and educational support.

Mitchell continued his persistent fight against racial injustice into the offseason of the 2019-20 NBA season, after making a strong stand during the season restart. He took part in a discussion with then vice-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, Portland’s CJ McCollum, and Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris, addressing educational, economic, and social disparities. Mitchell was also appointed to the first board of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. This coalition aims to utilize the influence of basketball to enhance awareness, provide education, and advocate for significant reform. Through his organization, SPIDACARES, Mitchell consistently contributes to those most in need.

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Larry Nance Jr.

Benefiting Charity: Athletes vs. Chron’s

In his hometown of Northeast Ohio, Larry Nance Jr. is a beloved figure in the basketball community and beyond. Reacting to the severe effects of COVID-19 on small businesses, Larry pledged to use every regular season game to support pre-chosen local enterprises. He does this by donating the auction proceeds from his game-worn jerseys. Both he and the Cavs triple the donation each small business gets by matching the proceeds.

Larry, through his social media challenge, received hundreds of packages from local businesses eager to be highlighted during his pregame walk-up. The Cavs FieldHouse Creative Team also presents post-game interviews with these small business owners on Cavs digital platforms. This gives fans a deeper insight into these businesses and helps to promote their stories throughout the Northeast Ohio community.

Larry managed to raise more than $222k and brought significant attention to 72 worthy small businesses as the Cavs season ended. Moreover, Westfield, a Cavs corporate partner, matched the funds raised from Larry’s jersey auction with an additional $100k donation. This donation was given to the Urban League of Greater Cleveland and the Akron Urban League, both of which support minority-owned businesses. In a different initiative in 2017, Larry started the Athletes vs Chron’s and Colitis foundation. This foundation aims to increase awareness of both diseases among young people and to help children with these diseases achieve their athletic dreams.

During the pandemic, Larry utilized his platform to address the mental and physical effects of COVID-19 on individuals with pre-existing auto-immune conditions.

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Josh Richardson

Benefiting Charity: Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors

Shortly before the start of the 2020-21 season, Richardson joined the Mavericks and immediately looked to make a difference in the wider Dallas area. He unexpectedly gifted Reebok sneakers, team merchandise, and a surprise video message to dozens of frontline health care workers at UT Southwestern Medical Center, expressing gratitude for their continuous efforts to ensure the community’s safety. In addition, he surprised a first grade class in the Dallas Independent School District by making a guest appearance as a reader, encouraging the students to value reading and education in this challenging school year.

Richardson, the son of an Air Force servicewoman, has continuously contributed to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. This program offers comfort and support to those mourning the loss of a servicemember. He has forged a close bond with his mentee, Elijah, through this program over the years. During the holiday season, he generously gifted over 20 families who, like him, have experienced the loss of a loved one in service.

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Russell Westbrook

Benefiting Charity: Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation

Russell Westbrook continues to make a positive impact in the communities where he resides and plays. As he adapts to a new team market, Westbrook collaborated with the LA Promise Fund to establish the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Academy in his birthplace of Los Angeles. The academy, which caters to middle and high school students, aims to improve access to education and outdoor activities for children and the broader community in south Los Angeles.

In 2012, Westbrook set up The Why Not? Foundation with the primary objective of offering services to vulnerable groups, including education, mental health resources, and employment tools. The foundation also inspires young individuals to think creatively, chase their dreams, and remain resilient despite facing numerous challenges. In November, Westbrook and his foundation teamed up with the L.A. Regional Food Bank to provide Thanksgiving meals for the ninth consecutive year to Los Angeles residents.

In December, Russell organized a unique Christmas sneaker giveaway for all students at The Children’s Guild District of Columbia Public Charter School. This school caters to many students, some of whom come from homeless or unstable living conditions. In February, Russell joined forces with Varo Bank in an advisory role to help lessen income disparities through programs aimed at enhancing financial literacy within the minority community. Beyond his immediate community efforts, Westbrook has also actively worked towards educating communities about the various injustices endured by Black people in America throughout history.

In April, Russell announced his plans to produce a documentary on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, a frequently neglected and uneducated event in American history. The documentary is set to premiere on May 30.

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