GREG BUCKNER RECEIVES NBA COMMUNITY ASSIST AWARD

Mavericks Guard to Receive the David Robinson Plaque for His Outstanding Commitment to the Community

NEW YORK, Mar. 14, 2007 – In recognition of Greg Buckner’s outstanding efforts in the community and for his ongoing philanthropic work, the NBA announced today it has honored the Dallas Mavericks guard with the Community Assist Award for February.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Buckner has worked hard to make a difference in the Dallas/Fort Worth area by implementing a number of initiatives to benefit the local community. Buckner started his award-winning month on Feb. 2, when he spent the afternoon at the Mavs’ All-Star Miracle Home making breakfast with children from local hospitals to help increase sales of raffle tickets. The home is being raffled off to raise money for the Mavs Foundation and two local children’s hospitals in Dallas and Fort Worth.

On Feb. 8, the Greg Buckner Foundation launched the “Buck”ets of Books program, designed to instill a love of reading and learning in children and young adults. Buckner visited Coyote Ridge Elementary in Dallas to launch the program as well as help the students celebrate Black History Month. He read a story about the influential African-American leader, Rosa Parks, to 80 second grade students and delivered a message on the importance of education.

“I am very excited to be bringing some of my favorite programs to the Dallas area,” said Buckner. “We’ve had much success with them in Denver and know that the Dallas youth will get a lot out of them as well. My vision is to help educate and develop our youth academically, morally, and socially.”

As February drew to a close, Buckner and a barbershop in North Dallas teamed up to sponsor haircuts for 30 kids from the Buckner Children and Family Services on Feb. 25. The Greg Buckner Foundation brought out the Mavs Street Team to provide entertainment and Buckner was on-hand to check out all the kids’ new hairstyles. His foundation also hosted a basketball clinic for 60 kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Richardson where the kids were taught the fundamentals of basketball including shooting, passing, dribbling, defense and rebounding.

The Greg Buckner Foundation has also launched Buckner All-Stars, a program designed to reward high school and middle school students from the Dallas Area who have excelled in the areas of academics, community service, and extra-curricular activities. Four scholarship winners will be recognized before Mavs games on March 30 and April 13, where they will meet the Mavericks guard. Buckner also created the G-Buck Student Athlete Tutoring Program to provide tutoring for local high school basketball players, who have demonstrated a need for academic assistance. Tutors and students are rewarded with a reception at the end of the school year.

As the recipient of the NBA Community Assist Award, Buckner will receive the David Robinson Plaque with the inscription, “Following the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson who improved the community piece by piece.” In addition to the plaque, a $5,000 donation will be given to The Greg Buckner Foundation. The league presents the NBA Community Assist Award monthly to recognize players for their charitable efforts. The award honors the NBA player who reflects the passion that the league and its players have for giving back to their communities.

NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. During the first year of NBA Cares, teams, current and former players, and the league office contributed 250,000 hours of hands-on service to the community, raised more than $40 million for charity, and created 146 places where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works with internationally-recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: UNICEF; Reading Is Fundamental; Habitat for Humanity; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Feed the Children, Special Olympics, KaBOOM!, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and many others.