Morris Peterson is in his eighth season in the NBA and has played in nearly 600 career games. However, as a kid, his numbers were a little different. He only had the opportunity to see one NBA game… and Taco Bell was his ticket in the door.

“I didn’t get the chance to go to NBA games when I was a kid,” Peterson said. “I went to one game – to see the Philadelphia 76ers play the Detroit Pistons when Charles Barkley was playing. I sat so high up that I couldn’t tell which players were which. I got the tickets from Taco Bell – if you bought a certain number of tacos you got a free ticket to the game. I thought going to that game was the best thing in the whole wide world.”

Now Hornets players get to give that experience to kids around the New Orleans area. Peterson, along with Ryan Bowen, Chris Paul, David West, Peja Stojakovic, Julian Wright and Bobby Jackson, purchase a group of tickets to each Hornets home game for kids in the community. The tickets are donated to non-profit organizations that work with under-served youth. The Hornets’ players can decide on the number of tickets they would like to purchase. The initiative is recognized in the New Orleans Arena by banners bearing the name of each group.

“It’s something they had approached us about and something I’ve always been involved with the past couple of years in Denver and in Houston,” Bowen said. “I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to play here in New Orleans and I wanted to do something to give back to the community.”

Over the past five seasons, Hornets players, coaches and members of the basketball operations department have given away over 31,000 tickets to various non-profits in the community. Prior to each contest, Peterson meets with the kids who represent his group, “Mo’s Maniacs” during that respective game.

“It always impacts me in a positive way,” he said. “Just the look on the kids’ faces means a lot. They’re always asking about my teammates and sometimes I’ll bring one of the guys with me to meet them. A lot of the kids are from inner-city schools and are at-risk youth, so it’s a positive experience for them.”

Although Bowen hasn’t had the chance yet to meet with the recipients of his tickets, it’s something he’s looking forward to doing during the remainder of the Hornets’ home games.

“It’s a neat thing that a lot of teams do around the league,” he said. “It’s good to see guys willing to do that because it means a lot to the kids to come to an NBA game. It’s been great being a part of the community and seeing people excited about the Hornets.”

Although Peterson wasn’t able to meet any of the Pistons players at the game he attended as a youth, it’s an experience that comes back to him prior to each game.

“That game had such a big impact on me because I didn’t get to do that often and, even though I didn’t get to meet the players, going to the game will always be a memory that sticks out for me,” he said. “It’s important for kids to get to come to games and experience watching guys doing positive things. It’s one thing to see professional athletes on TV, but it’s always good to see them in person and get to know us as people. If you can just make an impact on one of those kids, then you’ve done your job.”