More than $3 million in donations will be distributed to Historically Black Colleges and Universities during this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in Atlanta, the league announced Wednesday.
The contributions from the league and its partners will help HBCUs and communities of color that have been affected by COVID-19.
“During the past year, public health data has made clear that the cumulative effect of historic racial and economic inequities in our country have worsened the impact of the pandemic on communities of color and predominately Black institutions,” the NBA said in a news release.
For Sunday’s All-Star Game, teams captained by LeBron James and Kevin Durant will represent the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (comprised of 47 publicly supported HBCUs) and the United Negro College Fund (consisting of 37 member colleges).
Related: NBA games today – Full offseason schedule, including start of NBA free agency
Each group is guaranteed $500,000 in scholarship funding before the game starts, with an additional $750,000 at stake during the game: $150,000 to the winning team in each of the first, second and third quarters, plus $300,000 to the first team to hit the target score and win the All-Star Game.
Another $1.25 million guaranteed will be distributed through the All-Star Weekend’s slam dunk contest, skills challenge and 3-point shooting competition, with participants representing HBCU schools.
–Field Level Media