CedriC Ceballos - Arizona Luxury Homes

Tip-Off
by eriC Carlyle
It amazes me how
much the media
business is like
basketball. Both are
comprised of a team
of skilled members,
both are competitive
and both of them
entertain. But what
makes basketball so
different is the ability
Eric Carlyle, Publisher
and drive of many
former players to give back to the communities
where they live and/or have played.
In this issue you will catch up with Cedric
Ceballos. Cedric’s non-profit, Hoop2Heal, is
an amazing charity. I recently had the opportunity
to attend a Hoop2Heal event and was not only
impressed by Cedric’s hard work but also by the
support of his fellow athletes who turned out to
support Hoop2Heal. You can read more about
Cedric on page 10.
But Ceballos isn’t alone in his desire to give
back to others; he has great company in his
philanthropic efforts. We have spotlighted a few
other players who give back, including Chris
Dudley and Dikembe Mutombo, on page 24.
Giving back can be more than establishing
a charity, though. In this month’s Center Court
you can read about Kareem abdul-Jabbar’s new
children’s book, What Color is My World? What
about golf tournaments, bowling fundraisers,
and youth mentoring? The legends give back
in countless ways—too many for us to cover
them all. So while the media business is a lot like
basketball in a number of ways, the athletes give
back so much to the community in the spirit of
friendly competition that they have the media
beat (in a good way).
fROM REBOUND MAGAZINE
Big Guys,
Big Hearts
by MaTTheW Fish
The phoenix NBRpa
Chapter recently held its
8th annual Kids Fight
Cancer Golf Classic,
an event that’s always
near and dear to our
members’ hearts. as we
were wrapping it up, it
caused me to reflect on
my experiences over my
last seven years as an
NBRpa member. as I’ve
become more and more
Matthew Fish, Editor
involved with NBRpa at
the national level, one of the things that has continued
to impress me is the overall willingness of our members
to get involved in community outreach efforts, especially
those projects and events relating to children.
We’re all big guys—that’s just one of the reasons we
got to play basketball in the pro ranks. and when we
retired, we could all have rested on our laurels as retired
NBa, aBa or Harlem Globetrotters and never become
active in our communities across the U.S. But based on
my observations, I think our guys also display very big
hearts in their willingness to give back to the people and
communities who have so eagerly supported all of us
over our playing careers.
None of us have to do that—there’s no requirement
for NBRpa membership that says we have to be good
community citizens, there’s no demerit system if we
don’t participate. No, this is an inner drive, a desire to
leave a legacy for our families, friends, teammates and
fans that goes beyond our individual and team records
for points, rebounds and dunks. It’s a common desire to
be positive role models, using our sports notoriety and
fame to leave a positive legacy for the latest generation
of kids who look up to us. It makes me proud to say I’m
an NBRpa member!
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