Two legends of the game – one on the hardwood; the other on stage – surprised dozens of children in Long Beach on Tuesday.
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors and entertainment icon Snoop Dogg showed up at the Boys & Girls Club to help unveil a newly renovated basketball court and talk to kids about the importance from the community.
Snoop (birth name: Calvin Broadus) and Steph (birth name: Wardell Curry II), visited the club’s facilities at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park to surprise more than 70 children as the club threw their basketball one of a kind. short designed by comic book artist Damion Scott (birth name: Damion Scott).
Scott is a renowned artist whose unique style has graced the pages of “Batman” and “Black Panther” issues and trade paperbacks. Scott’s field design was inspired by the facility’s location at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, which is the same field where Snoop himself grew up playing sports.
“It’s where I learned to play basketball, to play football, to be active in the community and to build relationships. It’s where I learned to rap, to speak and to be myself, in this park right here,” Snoop Dogg said in a press release issued by Under Armour.
The redesigned and renovated field was made possible through a partnership between Steph Curry Brand and Snoop Dogg in which they seek to give back to low-income communities through youth sports and provide children with a safe space to discover their love for the game.
“We want to provide a space where you can come and have fun and get lost in the fun, get lost in the competition, invest in yourself, and be around a lot of amazing coaches and programs,” Curry said.
Local Boys & Girls Club officials say the renovated grounds will serve thousands of children from the local club and other organizations, including Long Beach Parks and Recreation and the Snoop Youth Basketball League. More than 200 children are enrolled in Boys and Girls Clubs of Long Beach and the facility has served the community for nearly four decades.
It’s a place where hundreds of children and teenagers have found refuge in an otherwise scary world. It’s where Snoop and his wife, Shante, grew up playing. And Snoop and Curry, along with artist Damion Scott, hope the court will continue to endure and serve its purpose for the children in the community who need it most.
“Coming back and seeing the kids doing different things, trying to be better than we were – that’s what it’s all about. For us to give those kids more opportunities than we were. in planes – that’s what it’s really about,” Snoop said.
For the Boys & Girls Club kids, Curry and Snoop Dogg’s tour included personalized t-shirts, inspirational speeches and, of course, hula hoops.