NBA players often give back to their communities in plenty of ways during the offseason but one of the most common is through basketball camps. For many kids, learning about basketball from an NBA player is a life changing experience. But Anthony Tolliver wanted his camps to go beyond basketball. So he figured out a way to save lives through his camps in a partnership with Nothing But Nets.
For those unfamiliar with the charity, Nothing But Nets is an organization that works to combat Malaria in Africa. The group takes donations and uses them to distribute bed nets where they are needed the most. Those nets protect children from the disease carrying mosquitoes that cause so many problems. The foundation has already worked with NBA players in the past, as Stephen Curry has donated three nets per three-pointer made for years now. And now Tolliver is in on the action in his own way.
Everytime someone signs up 4 my bball camp this year A LIFE WILL BE SAVED! Im donating a bed net 2 NOTHING BUT NETS in honor of each camper!
— Anthony Tolliver (@ATolliver44) April 14, 2017
For kids, the shoes that one of Tolliver’s camp sponsors are raffling off are probably the bigger deal but this is really cool. NBA players seem to regularly bring in a couple hundred kids per camp session and Tolliver is hosting two different camps in two different cities. With that in mind it feels safe to say that Tolliver probably will save something close to 300 lives. All while teaching basketball to kids. That is pretty cool. And the best part is that those 300 lives might only be the start.
We all know that the NBA is a copycat league. Maybe another player on the Kings hears what Tolliver is doing and decides to do the same thing. Or maybe the Kings themselves decide to match Tolliver’s donation themselves. At the very least it seems likely that someone reading about Tolliver’s donations decides to donate a net or two. Either way Anthony Tolliver is using basketball as a way to save children’s lives. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.
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And if you happen to be that person reading about this that decides to donate a net or two, here is Nothing But Nets’ information.