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

The NBA is delighted to reveal the ten candidates for the 2020-21 NBA Cares Community Assist Award, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. Each of these athletes has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to their community, making a positive difference 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 his NBA career began, DeAndre’ Bembry has been committed to philanthropy. After losing his brother Adrien to gun violence just weeks before the 2016 NBA Draft, he established the AP World organization. This organization is devoted to fostering safer communities and supplying families with the resources they need to cope with and overcome grief.

Throughout the year, DeAndre’ has been actively involved with AP World, partaking in various charitable activities. These include providing Thanksgiving meals to families, distributing brand new coats to needy children in collaboration with Operation Warm for Children’s Aid in Toronto, and supplying 500 pairs of brand new shoes to the 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 participated in a virtual roundtable discussion with an all-athletes panel. He shared his personal story and advocated for gun safety.

In April, DeAndre’ took part in a virtual school assembly for the Huddle Up Bullying Prevention Program in Toronto. The program aims to discourage bullying, discrimination and racism by fostering a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion. It also empowers students to take a stand. Bembry’s online presentation, which was aired to thousands of young people throughout 100 schools in Ontario, was aimed at demonstrating to students how to weather difficult times and emerge stronger.

Bembry is participating in a Wear Orange virtual panel on June 4, as part of the 7th Annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, to share his family’s story. His commitment to safety in the face of gun violence is truly inspiring. Bembry has transformed a devastating experience into a foundation that lends support to other families dealing with grief.

Vote for DeAndre’ Bembry >>

Devin Booker

Benefiting Charity: Phoenix Suns Charities

Devin Booker, 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 youth and families in the wider Phoenix region.

In May, during a Suns home game, Booker made an unexpected announcement via a pre-recorded in-game address. He revealed that five local nonprofit organizations were selected as the 2020-21 class of the Devin Booker Starting Five initiative. The chosen organizations – Arizona Autism United, Central Arizona Shelter Services, YMCA of Southern Arizona, GAP Ministries, and Elevate Phoenix – received a $100,000 grant each from Booker. These funds aimed to help address severe funding needs brought on by the pandemic and support their efforts to enhance the lives of local youth and families. To further honor and aid the 2020-21 class, a limited-edition Devin Booker Starting Five hoodie was designed by Booker himself and created in collaboration with Phoenix Suns Charities. The unique hoodies were available for purchase for a brief period, with all sales proceeds benefiting Phoenix Suns Charities.

The Devin Booker Starting Five donates $500,000 annually to five different youth-serving nonprofits in Arizona. The five organizations are the second class to receive this funding, which totals $2.5 million over five years. The first class, which included 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. Aside from his Starting Five initiative, Booker has made significant contributions to youth and families in the Valley, through COVID-19 relief and holiday shopping sprees. He also serves as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador, actively advocating for inclusion via sports.

Vote for Devin Booker >>

Joel Embiid

Benefiting Charity: Covenant House Pennsylvania

In March, Joel Embiid, the center for the Philadelphia 76ers, received the Community Assist Award. This was the same month he was named an NBA All-Star starter for the fourth year in a row. Embiid dedicated his efforts to tackling homelessness in Philadelphia, donating $100,000 to three local organizations: Youth Services Inc., Project HOME, and Sunday Breakfast Mission. Additionally, Embiid supplied 15,000 meals, 4,000 essential clothing items, and medical treatment for 1,000 individuals without secure housing. He granted access to a six-week summer camp for 50 homeless youths and provided shelter for over 300 teens experiencing housing insecurity.

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

Embiid has dedicated a significant portion of his community work in the past year to COVID-19 relief. When the pandemic began, he collaborated with 76ers Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer to donate $1.3 million to Penn Medicine for the development of antibody testing for frontline healthcare professionals. In an ongoing display of his support for these workers, he committed $500,000 through the #FirstRespondersFirst campaign. This initiative, a collaboration between Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Thrive Global and the CAA Foundation, aims to provide personal protective equipment 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.

Following his move to the Bucks in November, Jrue and his spouse Lauren collaborated with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation to pinpoint small businesses owned by women and Black individuals that required the most help. Upon evaluating grant applications, the Holiday family declared in January that they will 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 an array of services in southeastern Wisconsin, such as assisted living, home healthcare, childcare, mental health and substance abuse services, hospitality, among others.

Holiday is also deeply committed to helping communities that matter to him. This includes his promise to donate the rest of his 2020 NBA salary to establish The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Fund. This fund aims to fight systemic racism and reduce economic inequality by offering financial aid and assistance to Black-run organizations and businesses. Earlier in the season, the fund declared its support for 25 non-profit organizations and historically Black institutions, in addition to 23 Black-owned small businesses in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Indianapolis.

Vote for Jrue Holiday >>

Damian Lillard

Benefiting Charity: Special Olympics Oregon

Damian Lillard, a guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, was honored with the April NBA Cares Community Assist Award, courtesy of Kaiser Permanente. This award recognizes his ongoing efforts to uplift the youth of Portland.

Since his arrival in Portland in 2012, Lillard has been dedicated to investing and mentoring local high school students through his RESPECT program. This program supports and celebrates three local high schools: McDaniel, Parkrose, and Roosevelt. Amid the global pandemic and the shift to virtual learning, RESPECT adapted to ensure continued engagement with its students. Lillard stayed connected with program participants through video visits and used his social media platforms to recognize students and teachers who embodied the program’s principles. As schools resumed in-person learning, he supplied RESPECT-branded face masks for students and staff involved in the programs.

Lillard unveiled a unique RESPECT edition of his Dame7 shoe, exclusively for students in the program. The 500 pairs created incorporated school colors from McDaniel, Parkrose, and Roosevelt and depicted the three RESPECT principles: Show Up, Work Hard, and Be Kind. The shoes were given to RESPECT’s partner schools as rewards for students exemplifying these principles. Lillard wore these sneakers several times during the season. Beyond RESPECT, Lillard maintained his ambassadorship for the Moda Assist Program, a partnership with Moda Health and the Trail Blazers. This program donates $20 per assist made during the season towards building inclusive playgrounds for all abilities across Oregon. This year, Astoria has been chosen to receive funds for the construction of an all-abilities playground to improve 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) was launched in eight locations across Australia. The ICBL, initiated by Indigenous Basketball Australia, an organization founded by Mills to create opportunities for Aboriginal Australians in basketball, is geared towards players aged 14 and under. The tournaments not only aim to cultivate basketball skills but also foster life skills, including mental and physical health, and reinforce individual identity at a critical age, while celebrating Indigenous cultural practices. In a joint initiative with the NBA and Jr. NBA, Mills also announced the National Indigenous Basketball Tournament (NIBT) set to take place at the Gold Coast, Queensland from April 11-13. This event will offer 48 boys and girls further on- and off-court development opportunities.

Much of Mills’ professional career in the United States has been devoted to contributing to Australia, particularly empowering Indigenous youth and communities of color. He donated the remaining portion of his 2019-20 season salary to social justice organizations in 2020 and initiated the ‘We Got You’ campaign alongside other prominent Australian athletes. This campaign aims to eradicate racism, exclusion, and discrimination in sports. Following the severe Australian bushfires earlier in the year, Mills coordinated a donation of $750,000 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, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. This award recognizes Mitchell’s ongoing dedication to promoting social justice and advocating for education during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 NBA seasons.

In December, the Mitchell family donated $12 million to Greenwich Country Day School, the alma mater of Donovan and his sister Jordan, and where their mother, Nicole, taught for over a decade. This donation was the largest in the school’s history and will establish the Mitchell Family Scholarship Fund for students from pre-K-12th grade. It will also support the Nicole Mitchell Faculty Support Fund, assisting teachers with the same passion for teaching as Nicole and the new D.O.N.! The Determination Over Negativity Mitchell Family Athletic Center. Furthermore, Mitchell donated his Adidas D.O.N. Issue #2 sneakers’ proceeds last summer, totaling over $300,000 in scholarships and academic help. These funds went to support Jacob Blake’s children’s education, students of color at the University of Louisville, and preschool teachers in Connecticut and the Bronx.

Mitchell maintained his strong stance against racial injustice, speaking out consistently during the 2019-20 NBA season restart. He carried on this important conversation during the offseason, joining hands with then vice-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, CJ McCollum from Portland, and Tobias Harris from Philadelphia, to discuss educational, economic, and social discrepancies. His dedication was recognized as he was appointed to the first board of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. This coalition aims to use the influence of the game to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for significant reforms. Furthermore, Mitchell consistently contributes to the needy through his organization, SPIDACARES.

Vote for Donovan Mitchell  >>

Larry Nance Jr.

Benefiting Charity: Athletes vs. Chron’s

Larry Nance Jr., a basketball and community icon in his homeland of Northeast Ohio, pledged to support local small businesses severely affected by COVID-19. He vowed to use each regular season game as a platform to raise funds for pre-selected local businesses by auctioning his game-worn jerseys. Larry, along with the Cavaliers, matches the auction proceeds, effectively tripling the donation each small business receives.

Larry’s social media challenge garnered hundreds of packages from local businesses eager to be spotlighted during his pregame walk-up. Furthermore, the Creative Team at Cavs FieldHouse conducts post-game interviews with these small business owners, which are then shared on Cavs digital platforms. This gives fans a comprehensive view of the business and helps to share their story throughout the Northeast Ohio community.

Larry managed to raise over $222k and provided significant visibility for 72 deserving small businesses as the Cavaliers’ season ended. The funds raised from Larry’s jersey auction were matched by Cavs corporate partner Westfield with an extra $100K donation to the Urban League of Greater Cleveland and the Akron Urban League, both of which assist minority-owned businesses. Furthermore, Larry established the Athletes vs Chron’s and Colitis foundation in 2017, which aims to raise awareness of both diseases among young people and help them realize their athletic abilities despite their diagnoses.

During the pandemic, Larry utilized his platform to talk about 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 began, Richardson joined the Mavericks and immediately aimed to make a significant contribution to the wider Dallas community. He surprised numerous frontline healthcare professionals from UT Southwestern Medical Center by presenting them with Reebok sneakers, team merchandise, and an unexpected video message expressing gratitude for their continuous work in ensuring community safety. Richardson also made a surprise visit as a guest reader to a first-grade class in the Dallas Independent School District, where he encouraged the students to value reading and education, especially during this challenging school year.

Richardson, the son of an Air Force servicewoman, has sustained his commitment to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a program offering support and resources to those mourning the loss of a servicemember. Over the years, he has built a strong bond with his mentee, Elijah, through this program. During the festive season, he extended his generosity by giving presents to over 20 families who have similarly suffered the loss of a servicemember.

Vote for Josh Richardson >>

Russell Westbrook

Benefiting Charity: Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation

Russell Westbrook continues to make a positive impact on the communities where he lives and plays. As he adjusts to a new team market, Westbrook has collaborated with the LA Promise Fund to initiate the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Academy in his native Los Angeles. The academy, which caters to middle and high school students, aims to improve access to educational services and outdoor activities for children and the wider community in south Los Angeles. In 2012, Westbrook set up The Why Not? Foundation with the primary objective of providing services such as education, mental health resources and employment tools to vulnerable groups. The foundation also motivates young people to think creatively, chase their dreams, and never surrender, regardless of the challenges they face. In November, Westbrook and his foundation teamed up with the L.A. Regional Food Bank for the ninth consecutive year to distribute Thanksgiving meals to Los Angeles residents.

In December, Russell initiated a unique Christmas sneaker giveaway for all the students at The Children’s Guild District of Columbia Public Charter School. This school caters to many students originating from homeless or unstable living conditions. Then in February, Russell came on board with Varo Bank as an advisor, with the aim of combating income disparities by enhancing financial literacy programs within minority communities. Westbrook’s community outreach extends beyond direct assistance, as he also seeks to raise awareness about the historical inequities faced by Black people in America.

In April, Russell announced his production of a documentary on the often overlooked and untaught 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in American history. The documentary is set to premiere on May 30.

Vote for Russell Westbrook >>