If you’ve watched NBA programming or attended games this week you may have noticed a lot of green apparel worn by players and even a green basketball patch logo on some of the team’s courts.
Don’t worry, Source Sports’ NBA sources confirmed that graffiti artists didn’t participate in any attempts to paint the town green!
However, the NBA and Sprint did launch NBA Green Week where the league and its teams and players took part in greening programs and events. Recycling programs, community service projects and promotions to ‘go green’ in their local communities highlighted the NBA’s leadership in sustainability and generated awareness around their greening programs.
Dikemebe Mutombo, one of the NBA’s All-Time leaders in blocks has been heralded for his humanitarian work in his native African land. In 1997, the 19-year NBA veteran started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Congo. That earned him the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award in 2001 and 2009.
This week, he assisted in Sprint’s BuyBack Program where fans can receive up to a $300 credit towards a new phone when they recycle their old phones at a local Sprint Store. “We’re asking all of our fans to give their old cellular phones so that they can be recycled,” Mutombo told The Source by phone.
Mutombo made appearances at Sprint stores in Los Angeles this week encouraging people to recycle and to take advantage of Sprint’s credit towards a new cell phone. “Me as an NBA Global ambassador that’s where I come in and help people understand why recycling is very important,” he said.
“It’s extremely important to recycle. You have to think about the future of our society. What are we leaving for the future of our grandchildren?”
NBA Green is a year-round program of NBA Cares in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Green Sports Alliance that generates awareness and funds for protecting the environment and is committed to identifying and implementing sound environmental practices. To date, six NBA team arenas participate: Philips Arena, AmericanAirlines Arena, Moda Center, Toyota Center, Amway Center and Barclays Center. The initiative has been well received and the NBA received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
