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

The NBA is delighted to unveil the 10 nominees for the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for the 2020-21 Season, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. All of these players have demonstrated remarkable dedication to their communities and made significant positive contributions beyond the basketball court.

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

Below are the nominees.

DeAndre’ Bembry

Benefiting Charity: AP World

Since beginning his NBA career, DeAndre’ Bembry has demonstrated a strong commitment to philanthropy. He founded the AP World organization in memory of his brother Adrien, who tragically lost his life to gun violence just weeks before the 2016 NBA Draft. AP World is dedicated to promoting safer communities and providing resources to families to help them cope with and overcome grief.

Throughout the year, DeAndre’ has been actively involved with AP World, participating in various philanthropic activities. These include providing Thanksgiving meals for families, donating brand new coats to children in need in collaboration with Operation Warm for Children’s Aid in Toronto, and giving 500 pairs of brand-new shoes to Boys & Girls Club Youth in Indianapolis in February, in association with Shoes that Fit. Prior to National Gun Violence Survivors week in the first week of February, Bembry took part in a virtual roundtable discussion as part of an all-athletes panel, sharing his story and advocating for gun safety.

In April, DeAndre’ Bembry took part in a virtual assembly for the Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program in Toronto. The program aims to prevent bullying, discrimination, and racism by instilling a culture of equality, diversity, and inclusion, and encouraging students to take a stand. Bembry’s online presentation was streamed to thousands of young people in 100 schools across Ontario, in a bid to demonstrate to students how to navigate through tough times and emerge stronger.

Bembry is set to participate in a Wear Orange virtual panel on June 4th, as part of the 7th Annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, where he will share his family’s story. His unwavering commitment to safety in the face of gun violence is both undeniable and inspiring. Bembry has transformed a personal tragedy into a foundation that offers support to other families dealing with the pain of loss.

Vote for DeAndre’ Bembry >>

Devin Booker

Benefiting Charity: Phoenix Suns Charities

Devin Booker, a guard for the Phoenix Suns, was awarded the May NBA Cares Community Assist Award by Kaiser Permanente. This award acknowledges his ongoing dedication to assisting young people and families in the wider Phoenix region.

In May, five local nonprofit organizations were astounded by Booker at a Suns home game. During the game, he made a pre-recorded announcement revealing that they were the 2020-21 class of the Devin Booker Starting Five initiative. Each organization, including Arizona Autism United, Central Arizona Shelter Services, YMCA of Southern Arizona, GAP Ministries, and Elevate Phoenix, received a $100,000 grant from Booker. The funds were intended to help address the aftermath of the pandemic and support their endeavors to enhance local youth and families’ lives. To further honor and benefit the 2020-21 class, Booker, along with Phoenix Suns Charities, launched a limited-edition Devin Booker Starting Five hoodie that celebrates the chosen nonprofits. The unique hoodies, designed by Booker himself, were sold for a limited period, with all the sales proceeds going to Phoenix Suns Charities.

The Devin Booker Starting Five initiative has selected its second class of five organizations to receive an annual donation of $500,000. This amounts to a total of $2.5 million over five years, directed towards youth-serving nonprofits in Arizona. The first class, comprising Special Olympics Arizona, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, UMOM New Day Centers and Ability 360, received their grants of $100,000 each in late 2019. Adding to his Starting Five initiative, Booker has also extended considerable support to youth and families in the Valley through COVID-19 relief efforts and holiday shopping sprees. Besides, he serves as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador, working passionately to promote inclusion via sports.

Vote for Devin Booker >>

Joel Embiid

Benefiting Charity: Covenant House Pennsylvania

In March, Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers center, was recognized with the Community Assist Award. In the same month, after being selected as an NBA All-Star starter for the fourth consecutive year, Embiid amplified his fight against homelessness in Philadelphia by donating $100,000 to three local organizations: Youth Services Inc., Project HOME, and Sunday Breakfast Mission. Moreover, he supplied 15,000 meals for the needy, 4,000 essential clothing items, medical care for 1,000 individuals with housing instability, a place in a six-week summer camp for 50 young people who are homeless, and shelter for over 300 teenagers dealing with housing insecurity.

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

Over the past year, Embiid has largely concentrated his community efforts on COVID-19 relief. When the pandemic first hit, Embiid, along with 76ers Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, donated $1.3 million to Penn Medicine for the development of antibody testing for frontline healthcare workers. He continued his support for healthcare workers by pledging $500,000 via the #FirstRespondersFirst campaign. This campaign, a collaboration between Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Thrive Global, and the CAA Foundation, aims to supply PPE to frontline workers.

Vote for Joel Embiid >>

Jrue Holiday

Benefiting Charity: The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund

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

Jrue and his wife, Lauren, partnered with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation after he joined the Bucks in November. Their goal was to identify small businesses that were primarily women- and Black-owned, which were in dire need of financial support. After going through numerous grant applications, the Holiday family announced in January that they would be funding seven local businesses. These 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 – offer a range of services in southeastern Wisconsin. These services include hospitality, mental health and substance abuse services, childcare, home health, and assisted living among others.

Holiday has also shown his commitment to helping communities that matter to him by pledging the rest of his 2020 NBA salary to establish The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Fund. This fund is dedicated to fighting systemic racism and bridging economic inequality by providing financial 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.

Vote for Jrue Holiday >>

Damian Lillard

Benefiting Charity: Special Olympics Oregon

In recognition of his ongoing efforts to empower Portland’s youth, Damian Lillard, the guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, was awarded the April NBA Cares Community Assist Award, presented by Kaiser Permanente.

Since his arrival in Portland in 2012, Lillard has been 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 the face of the global pandemic and the shift to virtual learning, the RESPECT program adapted to ensure continued engagement with students. Lillard maintained contact with participants remotely through video visits, and he recognized students and teachers who embodied the program’s principles on his social media platforms. As schools resumed in-person learning, he provided RESPECT-branded face masks for students and staff involved in the programs.

Lillard introduced a special RESPECT version of his Dame7 shoe exclusively for students in the program. The 500 pairs made were designed in the school colors of McDaniel, Parkrose and Roosevelt, and highlighted the three RESPECT principles: Show Up, Work Hard, and Be Kind. These shoes were given to RESPECT’s partner schools as rewards for students who embody these principles. Lillard even wore the sneakers several times throughout the season. Apart from RESPECT, Lillard maintained his ambassador role for the Moda Assist Program, in collaboration with Moda Health and the Trail Blazers. This program donates $20 for every assist made during the season to support the construction of inclusive playgrounds for all abilities across Oregon. This year, the chosen recipient of these funds is the city of Astoria, aiding them in building an all-abilities playground to enhance their community.

Vote for Damian Lillard >>

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 in eight locations across Australia by Indigenous Basketball Australia. This organization, founded by Mills, aims to create opportunities for Aboriginal Australians to engage in basketball. The tournaments not only focus on basketball skills but also on life skills education, including mental and physical well-being, and the strengthening of individual identity during a crucial age. They also serve to uphold and honor Indigenous cultural practices. In a further move, Mills teamed up with the NBA and the Jr. NBA to unveil the National Indigenous Basketball Tournament (NIBT), set to take place on the Gold Coast in Queensland from April 11-13. This event will offer an additional 48 boys and girls both on- and off-court development opportunities.

Mills has devoted a significant portion of his professional career in the United States to giving back to Australia. His primary focus is empowering Indigenous youth and communities of color. In 2020, he donated his leftover salary from the 2019-20 season to organizations advocating for social justice. Along with other renowned Australian athletes, he helped initiate the ‘We Got You’ campaign, which aims to eradicate racism, exclusion, and discrimination in sports. Moreover, following the catastrophic Australian bushfires earlier that year, Mills coordinated a $750,000 donation from nine Australian NBA players.

Vote for Patty Mills >>

Donovan Mitchell

Benefiting Charity: Children’s Village

Donovan Mitchell, a guard for the Utah Jazz, was honored with the Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award by Kaiser Permanente. This was in appreciation of his relentless efforts to promote social justice and advocate for education during the NBA seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21.

In December, the Mitchell family made a significant donation of $12 million to Greenwich Country Day School – the alma mater of Donovan and Jordan, and the place where their mother, Nicole, served as a teacher for over a decade. The donation, the largest in the school’s history, will be used to establish the Mitchell Family Scholarship Fund to help students from pre-K to 12th grade. It will also fund the Nicole Mitchell Faculty Support Fund to support teachers who share Nicole’s passion for teaching and the D.O.N.! The Determination Over Negativity Mitchell Family Athletic Center. Additionally, Mitchell donated the earnings from his Adidas D.O.N. Issue #2 sneakers this past summer. These funds, exceeding $300,000, were used to provide scholarships and academic aid to Jacob Blake’s children, students of color at the University of Louisville, and teachers at preschools in Connecticut and the Bronx.

Mitchell continued his staunch commitment to addressing racial injustice beyond the 2019-20 NBA season restart by engaging in discussions during the offseason. He joined forces with then vice-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, CJ McCollum from Portland and Tobias Harris from Philadelphia to discuss educational, economic, and social inequalities. In addition, Mitchell was appointed to the inaugural board of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. This organization uses the influence of basketball to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for significant reform. Mitchell also consistently gives back to the most in need via his SPIDACARES organization.

Vote for Donovan Mitchell  >>

Larry Nance Jr.

Benefiting Charity: Athletes vs. Chron’s

Local basketball and community champion, Larry Nance Jr., from Northeast Ohio, has taken action to help local businesses deal with the harsh impacts of COVID-19. He has pledged to donate all proceeds from the auction of his game-worn jerseys for each regular season game to pre-selected local businesses. Furthermore, both Nance Jr. and his team, the Cavs, will match these proceeds, effectively tripling the donation received by each small business.

Larry’s social media challenge resulted in hundreds of packages from local businesses hoping to be highlighted during his pregame walk-up. Furthermore, post-game interviews with these small business owners are showcased by the Cavs FieldHouse Creative Team on Cavs’ digital platforms. This allows fans to gain a deeper understanding of the business and provides a broader spotlight for their story within the Northeast Ohio community.

Larry managed to raise over $222k and gave significant exposure to 72 worthy small businesses as the Cavs season concluded. In a matching contribution, Cavs corporate partner Westfield donated an additional $100K to the Urban League of Greater Cleveland and the Akron Urban League through Larry’s jersey auction, both of which support minority-owned businesses. Besides, Larry set up the Athletes vs Chron’s and Colitis foundation in 2017. This foundation is dedicated to increasing awareness about both diseases among adolescents and encouraging children to achieve their athletic dreams despite their diagnoses.

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

Vote for Larry Nance Jr. >>

Josh Richardson

Benefiting Charity: Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors

Shortly before the 2020-21 season, Richardson joined the Mavericks and immediately sought to make a difference in the broader Dallas area. He surprised several frontline health care workers from UT Southwestern Medical Center with Reebok sneakers, team merchandise, and a surprise video message expressing gratitude for their continual efforts to maintain community safety. Furthermore, he made a surprise visit to a first-grade class in the Dallas Independent School District as a guest reader, encouraging students to value reading and education amidst the unique challenges of the school year.

Richardson, being the son of an Air Force servicewoman, has maintained his involvement with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a program aimed at providing support, care, and resources to those mourning the loss of a servicemember. He has fostered a strong bond with his mentee, Elijah, over several years through the program. In the festive season, he extended his generosity by gifting more than 20 families who have also experienced the loss of a loved one in service.

Vote for Josh Richardson >>

Russell Westbrook

Benefiting Charity: Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation

Russell Westbrook is leaving a lasting impact in the communities where he lives and plays. As he adjusts to a new team market, Westbrook partnered with the LA Promise Fund to establish the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Academy in his hometown of Los Angeles. This academy caters to middle and high school students, aiming to enhance access to educational services and outdoor activities for children and the broader community in south Los Angeles. In 2012, Russell established The Why Not? Foundation, with the goal of offering services to vulnerable populations, including education, mental health resources, and employment tools. The foundation inspires young individuals to think creatively, chase their dreams, and remain resilient, regardless of the challenges they face. In November, Russell and his foundation collaborated with the L.A. Regional Food Bank for the ninth consecutive year to provide Thanksgiving meals 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 serves students, many of whom are from homeless or unstable housing situations. Then, in February, Russell teamed up with Varo Bank in an advisory role, focusing on addressing income disparities by enhancing financial literacy programs within minority communities. Besides Russell’s immediate community involvement, he has also been proactive in raising awareness about various injustices Black people have faced in America throughout history.

In April, Russell announced that he was producing a documentary about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, a frequently neglected and untaught event in American history. The documentary is set to premiere on May 30.

Vote for Russell Westbrook >>