Former NBA players were in the Thanksgiving spirit holiday Monday, as Montreal’s Sun Youth Organization held a basketball-themed donation event.
Jerome Williams and Gary Payton were alongside volunteers from NBA Cares, filling bags with non-perishable food items and wrapping brand new toys for the annual Sun Youth Christmas baskets.
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“What these people do on a day-to-day basis is just wonderful,” Jerome Williams said .
“I mean how long is it going to take ‘The Junk Yard Dog’ to do 10 bags? It’s quick, it’s painless.”
Basketball fans with donation items in hand got to meet and greet the NBA stars as well as take pictures with the newly-minted 2018-19 Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy.
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The donations will go towards the annual food hampers which will assist thousands of Montreal families, Ernest Rosa from the Sun Youth Organization said.
“Thousands of people are going to have a little bit of a better Christmas,” Rosa said.
An estimated 4,500 new toys will be given out by Sun Youth to families in need this year.
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This is not the first time NBA Cares and Sun Youth have teamed up.
Sun Youth received a monetary donation from NBA Cares for their basketball court construction which boasts a center court NBA logo.