Washington Wizards point guard John Wall was named the recipient of the NBA Cares Community Assist Award “in recognition of his many charitable efforts and year-long dedication to community outreach,” the NBA announced Wednesday.
Wall, 25, will receive the award on Thursday at Bright Beginnings, Inc., a Washington charity that serves children whose families live in shelters or transitional housing and provides child care and educational services. Wall had previously donated $400,000 to the charity, among several other financial and physical endeavors with others.
“I am honored and humbled to be selected as the 2016 season-long NBA Cares Community Assist Award winner and would like to thank all the fans and my many friends who voted for me on social media,” Wall said in a statement released on Wednesday. “I am privileged to be in a position to better my communities in both Washington and Raleigh and I consider the outreach that I do to be the most rewarding part of being an NBA player.”
The award recognizes an NBA player who “best reflects the passion that the league and its players share for giving back to their communities.”
As part of the award, The John Wall Foundation will receive $25,000 from a sponsor and the NBA, which he will donate to Bright Beginnings for a new playground. The three-time all-star will also be matching that donation with a $25,000 donation of his own money to a charity in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina that he will designate at a later time.
In addition, Wall recently received Bright Beginning’s Champions for Children Award.
Wall averaged career highs of 19.9 points, 10.2 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals last season.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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