NBA’s Sacramento Kings Promote the Importance of Mentorship

January 13, 2023

The NBA's Sacramento Kings are celebrating January's National Mentorship Month in the US through activations that support, amplify and celebrate the work of organizations in California that focus on mentoring youth in partnership with MENTOR California. The team will also honor January 16’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day) with youth-focused activities.

MENTOR, which has been running for more than 30 years, uses mentoring to address systemic inequities in opportunities, networks and access to adult relationships outside of famililes. With a joint belief that every young person should have access to quality mentors and the resources they need to create good, the partnership provides resources and information to encourage fans to become involved as mentors to drive meaningful change for youth throughout the region.

The Kings want to create pathways for local youth to engage with the team and celebrate the work of mentors and “the profound impact they have on the next generation.” Throughout the month, the team is hosting local students during select games for a mentorship opportunity. ‘Fastbreak Mentoring: In-Game Edition’ is aimed at young people aged 12 to 18 and involves them shadowing franchise professionals across various departments during game day. The intention is for students to learn first-hand what goes into different aspects of an NBA game behind-the-scenes, showing youth that there are other professional opportunities in sports apart from becoming an athlete.

As a special feature, this past Wednesday, Grammy award-winning musician, executive producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Curtis ‘50 cent’ Jackson took part in a studio session designed to inspire and motivate attendees from MENTOR California and Improve Your Tomorrow – a community-based non-profit focused on serving the educational needs of young men of color.

The Kings will kick off their celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy alongside historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) during tonight's home game againt the Houston Rockets. "HBCUs are institutions that were established prior to 1964 with the principal mission of educating Black Americans. These institutions were founded and developed in an environment of legal segregation and, by providing access to higher education, they contributed substantially to the progress Black Americans made in improving their status."

Eight HBCUs will be on the concourse to share information about the institutions with fans. During the game, the Kings will present ‘The Future is Yours Scholarship’ to a local student who plans to attend an HBCU  in partnership with Trajectory Foundation and the G Unity Foundation. Additionally, on January 16, team members will participate in MLK Day marches across the region and will recognize the recipient of its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration essay competition in February.

As part of the Kings ongoing commitment to invest in youth, the team has partnered with Build. Black. - a Black-owned business directory designed to support the justice and equality movement - for the past five years. Together, the entities support the annual Kings and Queens Rise Co-ed Youth Sports and Mentoring League, which provides youth with opportunities to engage in community activities that help prevent violence. The team has participated in several mentoring sessions to connect with youth and spur conversations on leadership training, career development and more.

Other Mentoring Month activations include:

• In partnership with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) and Sacramento County Probation Department Youth Detention Facility (YDF), the team will host a mentoring event for youth at the detention facility. Kings players, coaches, mentors and youth will engage in discussions about how to overcome obstacles, embrace self-love and develop important life skills.
• An extension of the Kings Do Good Summit on January 18 where the team will host conversations in partnership with SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) to learn, listen, share and collaborate around education issues.
• The team will recognize a dynamic mentor selected by MENTOR California on January 23. Fans can nominate mentors by tagging them on the Kings Community Instagram.
• The Kings will elevate the importance of mentoring throughout January by sharing resources and video messages from players on its social channels and billboards.

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