Students Read 1.4 Million Minutes for the Lakers Reading Challenge

The Lakers once again partnered with the Honolulu Advertiser to promote literacy by conducting the annual Lakers Reading Challenge in September prior to the team’s visit to Oahu for training camp.

Andrew Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

As part of the Lakers Read to Achieve program, Oahu 3 – 8 grade students were asked to document the number of minutes they spent reading outside of class for a 7-day period from September 19-25. The class with the highest average number of minutes read would enjoy a private read aloud session with a Laker player before watching the Lakers play in an exhibition basketball game on Wednesday, October 12 at the Stan Sheriff Center at UH – Manoa.

The reading challenge was an overwhelming success as it motivated over 3,400 students in 152 classrooms from 62 public and private schools to spend much of their out-of-class time reading 1.4 million minutes during the one week period. Chelsea Harry’s 7th and 8th grade class from Ho’ala School won the 2005 Lakers Read to Achieve Reading Challenge by reading a total of 30,453 minutes, for a class average of 2,175 minutes per student. Coming in second was Christine Mabuni’s 6th grade class from Salt Lake Elementary School, which read an average of 1,985 minutes per student. With less than 200 minutes separating the top two classrooms, the Lakers and the Honolulu Advertiser decided to treat both classrooms to a special Reading Time-Out with Lakers Forward Brian Cook at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.

Lakers Photos

Cook spent an hour with the students, reading aloud a short story, answering questions, posing for photographs and signing autographs for everyone. Each student received a Lakers backpack filled with school supplies and a Lakers hat. The Golden State Warriors, who are also champions of literacy, graciously donated backpacks filled with an assortment of Warriors merchandise for each student as well.

Both classrooms received tickets to the Lakers’ exhibition game against the Warriors that evening. The winning classroom from Ho’ala School was recognized at halftime for its outstanding achievement, and each student was presented with a book autographed by Lakers Forward Luke Walton.

In 2001, the Lakers Reading Challenge was won by Malia Mataele's 6th grade students from Puohala Elementary, who enjoyed being read aloud to by Mark Madsen, and in 2003, Michelle Takenishi’s 5th and 6th grade class from Red Hill Elementary won a story hour with Rick Fox. Both classes received gift bags and autographs from the Lakers before attending a Lakers exhibition game at the Stan Sheriff Center at UH – Manoa.

Lakers Photos

The mission of the NBA’s Read to Achieve program is to build a lifelong love of reading in young people, promote the value of reading and online literacy, and encourage families and adults to read regularly with young children. The Lakers strive to achieve these goals and promote literacy by conducting Lakers Reading Challenges, creating Laker Reading Rooms, holding Reading Time-Outs and organizing book drives to benefit local schools and youth organizations.