NBA All-Star Weekend (Day 4)

Dallas has been incredible! We had an Africa reception where NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the new NBA office in Johannesburg. The NBA will be developing the game in Africa.

My friend Dikembe Mutombo will be a major force in the effort to not only grow the game but to spread the message of NBA Cares around the continent.

We also had a WNBA reception where I had the opportunity to meet Maria Shriver and hear about the great work she is doing with the Special Olympics. I feel so fortunate to be a part of the NBA and the NBA Cares family. The work is so rewarding!

Here are a few more photos from the NBA All-Star Weekend... Will have some videos soon.

NBA All-Star Weekend (Day 2)

I barely have time to write as we have had so many great events, including wheelchair basketball and several NBA Fit events.

Yesterday was strange — we got 12 inches of snow! Dikembe Mutombo and I were stuck in traffic for 3.5 hours! We only went about 10 miles! The good news is that I got to know Dikembe and I am so impressed with him!

He is so humble and has such a wonderful positive outlook on life. He has built a hospital in Africa with his own money and he continues to be involved in Atlanta and around the globe. Unfortunately the media covers the negative things the players do but the reality is there are far more current and former players like Dikembe who do wonderful things in their communities.

Here are a few photos from our NBA Fit video shoot with WNBA and NBA All-Stars.

NBA All-Star Weekend (Day 1) Featuring Laura Bush

I have been going non-stop since I got here to Dallas! We have had a number of events the past couple of days.

A real highlight was our NBA Cares event with Laura Bush. Bob Lanier and I co-hosted the event. (And it was a really cool to be able to address the former First Lady...)

Read to Achieve

We dedicated a new library at Ferrell Elementary School in Dallas. Since Mrs. Bush is a former librarian and is passionate about literacy in this country, she was a perfect fit for the event. She was extremely kind and delivered a very graceful and articulate message encouraging the kids to read. I was fortunate to have been able to meet her and talk to her for a bit. She was wonderful.

With Felipe Lopez and Mark Cuban