NBA joins celebration of first-ever World Basketball Day

The NBA today announced itscelebrations of the first-ever World Basketball Day.

Established by the United Nations onAugust 23 during the FIBA World Cup, World Basketball Day will beobserved annually on Dec. 21 – the day Dr. James Naismith firstintroduced the game of basketball at the Springfield YMCA in1891.

“The NBA family is thrilled to jointhe global basketball community in celebrating the first WorldBasketball Day,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “More than 130years after Dr. James Naismith invented the game at the SpringfieldYMCA, World Basketball Day is a reminder of basketball’s ability totranscend borders, cultures and languages and unite people aroundthe world.”

Nearly 600 million people across theglobe play basketball annually and basketball is the second-mostpopular sport in the world, while the number one team sport to playin the United States.

Alongside the National BasketballPlayers Association (NBPA), the National Collegiate AthleticAssociation (NCAA), USA Basketball and the International BasketballFederation (FIBA), the NBA family will honor the game and celebrateWorld Basketball Day through various programming such as youthclinics and respective social media campaigns – all demonstratingbasketball’s societal contributions.

This year the NBA will host thefollowing global celebrations in observance of World BasketballDay:

Domestic

United Nations’ World Basketball Day Panel: As part ofWorld Basketball Day, the Philippines will host a panel discussionto share the significance of the day and highlight the impact thegame brings to everyone around the world at the United Nations onDec 21. Panelists include Professor David Hollander, founderof World Basketball Day; a representative from the PhilippineEmbassy; John Doleva, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame President;and Julius Erving, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer.United Nations’ World Basketball Day Diplomats Pick-UpGames: On Dec. 21, friendly games between 30 diplomats from 20different countries at the Vanderbilt YMCA in New York City.Jr. NBA Clinic: In celebration of World Basketball Day,the Jr. NBA will host a clinic at the Harlem PAL Center, uniting 80youth participants, ages 6-14, to learn the fundamentals of thegame at the Harlem Police Athletic League in New York City.

International

NBA Cares Packing Project: On Dec. 15, as part of thefirst-ever Republika ng NBA Month, the NBA hosted an NBA Carespacking project at the NBA Community Court presented by TITAN inMandaluyong City. NBA staff and partners assembled carepackages for high school students from select public schools aroundthe NBA Community Court ahead of World Basketball Day. Eachpackage included a "Republika ng NBA" t-shirt, a pair of socks andslippers, Gatorade bottle, and vivo-branded backpack and waterbottle.NBA Basketball School Virtual Conversation: On Dec. 15,NBA Basketball School, a network of basketball development programsaround the world for youth ages 6-18, held a virtual conversationwith former WNBA player Mery Andrade and former NBA player ZazaPachulia, who spoke about how basketball has positively impactedtheir lives, why they are excited about the inaugural WorldBasketball Day, and answered questions from the attendees.NBA Egypt Hoops: On Dec. 21 at the Al Sadat SchoolGharbia in Egypt, NBA Egypt is setting out to provide publicschools with the basic infrastructure which would allow students topractice and experience basketball. This includes installingtwo basketball hoops, providing three basketballs and doing basicrefurbishments in some of the courts where national schoolcompetitions take place.