—Jerry Jiang, for NBA.com
“The NBA celebrated AANHPI Heritage month through a series of events, such as the APEX Symposium and Youth Tournament…
Externally, for the third consecutive year, APEX also supported a youth tournament in Flushing, New York to celebrate and encourage youth participation in sports with Apex for Youth.
Volunteers from the NBA community assisted with coaching the elementary-aged youth basketball clinic, distributing NBA Cares t-shirts/tournament jerseys and sponsoring tournament trophies for all three divisions of play. Corporate partners such as Nike provided players with sneakers and gifts.
The importance of having serious conversations and translating that into a team environment through sports is critical for the youth and their involvement in the industry going forward.
“Many of our APEX members say this is their favorite event of the year and being able to support an organization like Apex for Youth is incredible,” Chao said. APEX is a longstanding Apex for Youth partner dating back to 2022.
Apex for Youth empowers Asian American youth from low-income and immigrant backgrounds to unlock their potential today and a world of possibility tomorrow. Through partnerships like this, Apex for Youth’s athletics programs help our youth build confidence, develop skills and find belonging through mentorship both on and off the court.
Through other tentpole events such as All-Star Weekend, APEX and the NBA look to continue to support AANHPI initiatives beyond the month of May.
“We are constantly looking for ways to bring the community together and connect our stories,” Chao said.”
