NBA Players Bring the “Basketball Show” to Brazil

As every basketball fan now knows, The National Basketball Association is a multi-cultural showcase of hoop skills with players coming from all over the globe to compete on the highest competitive level. Foreign born players have risen to great heights to become All-Stars and even MVP’s like Dirk Nowitzki.

Every once in a while players go back to their native countries for the sake of charity. We all know of Dikembe Mutombo’s giving millions of dollars and other humanitarian work in his homeland of the Congo in Africa.

During these down times for NBA players, two native Brazilians organized a basketball exhibition against two teams made up of NBA players and the best players from the Brazilian professional leagues. Anderson Varejao of the Cavaliers and Leandro Barbosa of the Suns put together the “Basketball Show” in hopes of raising money for helping the many homeless and impoverished children of Rio de Janeiro.

NBA players participating besides Varejao and Barbosa included “The Matrix” Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden (Dallas), Devin Brown (New Orleans), Keith Bogans (Milwaukee), Danny Granger (Indiana), Amir Johnson, Ryan Hollins, and Coby Karl (Lakers). NBA players were divided equally with the two Brazilian stars as captains.

The Dallas Maverick’s Shawn Marion came out the leading scorer with 31 points, followed by Anderson Varejao, the crowd favorite, scoring 30 points as the team “Friends of Leandro” beat the “Friends of Varejao” 116-110.

It’s good to hear about some NBA players giving back to the community instead of news of another player tarnishing the NBA’s image by entering rehab or in the police blotter.