NEW YORK, April, 20, 2015 – The NBA announced today the beginning of fan voting for the 2014-15 Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente. Along with an NBA panel of judges, fans can vote for their favorite nominee through April 27 via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #NBACommunityAssist and #PlayerFirstNameLastName.
The seasonlong nominees include past monthly winners New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, Tobias Harris, Ben McLemore, Joakim Noah, Chris Paul, Klay Thompson and Russell Westbrook, and three additional nominees, Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol and Damian Lillard, who have all made notable contributions to their communities.
Davis received the January NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente, an award recognizing an NBA player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and its players have for giving back to their communities. As the winner of the award, Davis had the opportunity to select a non-profit of his choice to receive a $10,000 donation on his behalf from Kaiser Permanente and the NBA. Davis selected the Audubon Nature Institute to support the Pelicans’ continued commitment to coastal restoration initiatives in the Gulf South.
“Giving back means a lot to me,” Davis said. “I try to do the best I can to give back to the city and show my appreciation and to win the NBA Community Assist Award monthly award has been a great honor and a blessing. I just try to use everything that I have to give back to the City of New Orleans. I just love hosting the events for the kids and seeing the smiles on their faces and see them happy.”
The NBA and Kaiser Permanente will donate $25,000 to the winner’s charity of choice. Fans can find additional details at https://www.nba.com/communityassist.
Upon entering his third season in the league, Davis had the desire to increase his commitment to the New Orleans community and created “AD’s Flight Academy” which consists of monthly events with various non-profit organizations.
To kick off his AD’s Flight Academy initiatives, Davis hosted Thanksgiving dinner for residents at the Salvation Army Center of Hope and was joined by his family as he served meals to the residents and enjoyed spending time and playing with children staying at the Center. During the holiday season, Davis, Ryan Anderson and Jeff Withey hosted a shopping spree for 75 local kids, providing them with $100 each to select Christmas gifts at the Toys “R” Us. The recipients of the gift cards were children from Kingsley House, Boys Hope Girls Hope and Raintree Children and Family Services, all of which support underprivileged families and children in education
In January, Davis hosted a night of bowling and giveaways for 100 students from the Westbank YMCA at Federal City at Fulton Alley. Students had the opportunity to spend time with Davis on the bowling lanes, as well as watch him compete against Anderson in a game, enjoy snacks and win prizes. Davis hosted a night of laser tag, bowling, arcade games and giveaways for 150 students from the Jefferson Parish Parks and Recreation at Laser Tag of Metairie in February, challenging the kids to laser tag, as well as competing against them in bowling and a variety of video games, including pop-a-shot.
In March, Davis hosted a special advance screening of The Divergent Series: Insurgent for 150 students from Juma Covenant House and Boys Hope Girls Hope at AMC Elmwood 20. With the goal of reaching an older age group with the event, Davis participated in a Q&A with the students prior to the movie. Most recently, in April, Davis hosted a night of basketball and pizza for 130 kids at Back 2 Basics in New Orleans. In addition to games of knockout, a Q&A and trivia with Davis, participants had the chance to work on their basketball skills. Back 2 Basics Basketball Academy is a basketball facility located in Jefferson Parish focused on teaching the fundamentals of the game and life skills to male and female student-athletes.
In addition to his AD’s Flight Academy events, Davis has participated in several team community events, including the Chevron STEAM Zone launch at the Smoothie King Center and the unveiling of the Pelicans’ red uniforms and Junior Training Camp session prior to the start of the season. Chevron and the Pelicans welcomed 100 students from the greater New Orleans area to tour the new interactive Chevron STEAM Zone in the lobby of the Smoothie King Center in October. Davis and Ryan Anderson spent time at stations with students as they learned about science, technology, engineering, art and math, as well as testing their knowledge on the science behind the sport of basketball through several games and exhibits. At the unveiling of the Pelicans’ red uniforms in September, Davis was joined by teammates Eric Gordon and Jimmer Fredette in hosting a Pelicans Junior Training Camp presented by Smoothie King and Ochsner Health System for 190 students at St. Catherine’s of Siena. Davis spent time playing shooting games, taking photos and working on his passing skills with students at the session.
Davis also has given back this season through the Player Ticket Program by spending $30,000 to send over 3,700 underprivileged local children to a Pelicans game. Each recipient of tickets also receives a t-shirt at the game and several groups have had the opportunity to participate in the Pelicans fan tunnel (high-fiving players as they come on to the court) and Basketball Buddies (children had the chance to stand on-court with Pelicans players during the National Anthem).