The average NBA season is busy enough with 82 games, an average of 3,5 per week, but a lot of the players make the time to give back to the community. This can be something (seemingly) small, but everything, no matter how big or small, can make an impact.

Stephen Curry

Curry recently announced a new basketball camp, named ‘the Underrated Tour’, a camp for unsigned high school basketball prospects who are rated three stars or below. Most of the time, kids with that rating don’t get into the better quality camps, and this is a way to give these kids an opportunity to develop themselves, show that they’re more than their rating, and prove everyone wrong. It can even be their start to becoming the new Steph Curry. This is Curry’s way to give those kids the opportunities he didn’t get when he was a 3-star prospect.

That is Curry’s most recent addition to giving back to the community, but he does a lot more. It includes donating shoes (about 20.000 pairs), working with the United Nations to protect people in Africa against Malaria (Nothing but Nets), several golf fundraising tournaments, the Animal Rescue Foundation, United Playaz and My Brothers Keeper.

LeBron James

LeBron James founded a public elementary school in Akron for at-risk youth, called the ‘I Promise School’. Ever since he made it into the NBA, James has tried to create more opportunities for the youth in his hometown. He didn’t only open the school up to the public, but he promised several benefits for the children, and parents, who attend it. The parents can get job seeking assistance, while all children get a bike, and if they finish the entire I Promise track, their tuition to the University of Akron will be paid in full.

LeBron is very focused on improving the opportunities in his hometown, and wants to prevent that children drop out of school. Furthermore, James also started a tech camp, that doesn’t just help the children, but if the parents get involved, they can receive groceries, or even (part of) a month’s rent. Besides all that, he has also donated money to his old high school for jerseys, refurbished basketball courts in the city, and gave money the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Kevin Durant

Durant was the last winner of the NBA Cares Community Assist Award, and he definitely did enough to earn it. In 2018, he has given over $13 million to the community, which included paying for four students’ college tuition, gave back to his alma mater, the University of Texas, which helped them renovate the basketball and athletics department, donated to Colin Karpernick’s 10 for 10 campaign, was involved with the Make-A-Wish foundation, and a lot more.

Furthermore, the fact that Durant left Oklahoma City didn’t mean he stopped caring about the community there. Even after he joined the Warriors, Durant has still donated to ‘Positive Tomorrows’, a school for the homeless, and he’s still involved with this cause.

J.J. Barea

Barea might come off the bench with the Mavericks, but he’s made himself even more valuable off the court. He jumped to action after the Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico. He brought it onto himself, and the Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban, to help raise money and deliver supplies to the people in need. In total, he made five trips with Cuban’s plane, to deliver not online supplies, but also things like generators and bikes.

John Wall

The story of how Wall came to be active within the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is quite touching, as back in 2014, he became friends with a 5-year-old girl, Miyah Telemaque-Nelson who was suffering from Leukemia. When she passed away, Wall was visibly touched during a post-game interview, and teamed up with the organization soon after.

Furthermore, Wall and his John Wall Foundarion are very involved in Washington, as he donated backpacks and school supplies to children that need them every year. August of 2018 was the fifth time he organized this, and they gave out 1.000 backpacks to children. The foundation is also involved in organizing Thanksgiving dinners, Turkey giveaways, Christmas dinners and more in the community of D.C.

DeMarcus Cousins

Cousins can often be seen misbehaving himself on the court, and stacking up several fines for unruly behavior, but off the court, he definitely makes up for it by doing everything he can for the community. For example, he has organized a recurring stand-up show, ‘Boogie’s Comedy Slam’, in both Sacramento and New Orleans. Two years ago, in Sacramento, 4000 people showed up to the event. Furthermore, he organizes basketball camps, and is supplying children with necessities for school. Furthermore, every year around Christmas, Cousins, as Santa Cuz, takes about 100 children on a shopping spree. This December, it was already the 7^th Santa Cuz Shopping Spree.