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The NBA Foundation is celebrating its sixth anniversary of fostering economic opportunity for under-resourced youth. Since 2020, the organization has worked in partnership with all 30 teams to focus on deploying grants that provide workforce development opportunities.  

The Foundation has continued to take its impact to new heights, investing in its new partner organizations and expanding its reach. The organization has now served more than 1 million youth, has a current portfolio of over 300 nonprofit organizations and has awarded $165 million, a significant milestone marking over half of the initial $300 million commitment. 

As the Foundation celebrates six years, those involved are taking time to reflect on its progress while remaining focused on raising the bar for its growth and impact.

“I am incredibly proud to celebrate the impact we’ve made together over the past six years,” said Ruth Jurgensen, Executive Director of the NBA Foundation. “This anniversary is especially meaningful as we surpass one million youth served through our nonprofit partners and signature programs. Reaching this milestone reflects the dedication of our partners, teams and communities, and we remain committed to creating opportunities that empower young people to thrive.” 

On Wednesday, the Foundation celebrates its anniversary with its 17th round of grants, awarding $3.3 million to 54 organizations across all NBA markets. The latest round demonstrates its continued impact and commitment to strengthening the communities surrounding NBA teams. 

New nonprofit partners are excited to join the NBA Foundation family in the upcoming cycle. Receiving a grant from the Foundation can help them take their missions even further. 

“Since 2013, our partnership with the Miami HEAT has expanded opportunities and critical support for thousands of young people ages 14 to 24 experiencing homelessness and residing at one of our two nationally recognized Homeless Assistance Centers,” said a representative of the new grantee Chapman Partnership, INC. 

“Elevating this collaboration to include the National Basketball Association Foundation represents a powerful catalyst for change. Together, we have the opportunity not only to support youth, but to transform futures, equipping them to rewrite their stories and redefine what is possible.”

Chapman has placed 2,142 people in permanent housing while helping 715 individuals secure jobs or complete training. The organization prides itself on transparency, and through this new partnership with the Foundation, Chapman can bring its principles to a whole new audience. 

Returning grantees have reflected on what they have accomplished during their time with the NBA Foundation and look forward to continuing the work their organizations strive to do. 

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Lights Camera Discover

“With NBA Foundation funding, Lights Camera Discover has been able to provide hands-on training, paid internship opportunities, mentorship, career exploration experiences, and industry-connected learning that prepares young people for success beyond the classroom,” said founder and Executive Director Kema Charles. “Youth have gained practical skills in filmmaking, photography, animation, journalism, digital content creation, editing, and production while developing critical workplace competencies such as communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving and professionalism.”

“Perhaps most importantly, the NBA Foundation’s investment has helped young people see themselves differently, not only as students, but as future creators, storytellers, entrepreneurs and leaders. The confidence, skills and career awareness developed through these experiences continue to create lasting impact for youth, their families, and the communities we serve.”

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New Pathways for Youth 

“We are grateful to the NBA Foundation for believing in the potential of the young people we serve. This partnership will expand our capacity to connect more youth with trusted mentors, career exploration and workforce development opportunities, helping them overcome barriers, discover their strengths and create pathways to lifelong success,” Karen Johnson, Ph.D., President & CEO of New Pathways for Youth. 

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Signature Programs

The Foundation’s signature programs also continue to make an impact by introducing young professionals to the workforce and providing young curators a platform to make their mark on the national stage. The Foundation’s programs include the NBA HBCU Fellowship, All-Star Pitch Competition, and the Tech Challenge.

The NBA Foundation’s HBCU Fellowship has created career opportunities for 335 HBCU undergraduate and graduate students nationwide through a 10-week summer internship.

“It was really ensuring that students from HBCUs could have opportunities and access to work in sports,” said, Lauren Sills, Head of Operations and Strategic Programs. “As an HBCU alum, there’s a lot of pride because I know there’s a lot of talent at any of our HBCUs, but there’s not a lot of opportunity, so the fact that the NBA Foundation is uniquely positioned to provide those opportunities is very special.”

During the internship, fellows gain hands-on experience in departments including communications, data research, video production, marketing and more. So far, over 25% of Fellowship alumni have received full-time jobs within the NBA ecosystem. 

Another signature program of the Foundation is the All-Star Pitch Competition. 

The annual pitch competition serves as a launching pad for entrepreneurs to refine their startup ideas while networking with like-minded individuals who share their experiences or are at the level they aspire to reach. To date, the pitch competition has awarded $900,000 to entrepreneurs based in All-Star host markets and has worked with partners like American Express and Comcast to help provide additional funding to local businesses.

In 2024, the Foundation launched the inaugural Tech Challenge program, a design thinking challenge where students from local colleges and universities compete to solve real-world business challenges. In addition to the program, participating students received access to AfroTech, one of the largest convenings for professionals in tech. 

In addition to grantmaking, these programs help the Foundation enact its mission to provide opportunities that serve as catalysts for economic empowerment across NBA communities. The NBA Foundation is proving that true success extends beyond the court, empowering entrepreneurs, creating opportunities for students and uplifting communities.

To learn more about the Foundation and get involved, visit NBAFoundation.com.

Editor’s Note: Read more NBA coverage from The Athletic here. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its teams. 

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A year removed from a most “violent” offseason, Victor Wembanyama is bringing the gang back together. Less than two months after the San Antonio Spurs fell in the NBA Finals, a large portion of the team joined the big man in Paris this week for a mid-summer mini-camp.

The team posted a photo to social media of Wembanyama with seven of his teammates from his gym in nearby suburb Nanterre, France: Carter Bryant, De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Harrison Barnes, Jordan McLaughlin and free-agent signing Tobias Harris. The significant contingent, which comprises the majority of the Spurs’ projected playing rotation, is expected to spend around a week working out together at the home of Wembanyama’s former club Nanterre 92, of which he now owns a piece. Center Kelly Olynyk, who was with the Spurs last season but is currently a free agent, is also attending the workout.

out in Paris putting in work together this week 🇫🇷🤝 pic.twitter.com/oBZSZ4mhNB

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) August 4, 2026

It’s a unique opportunity to get the entire team aligned at the halfway point of the offseason, well before the usual pre-training camp runs most teams do in mid-September.

“He sets a great example in his approach, in the way he takes care of his body, in the way he connects with his family and with his teammates,” Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said of Wembanyama in an interview with French media outlet TrashTalk. “There are not many times where 10 guys from a team are flying halfway around the world to go work out together. And that’s done because of the respect and admiration and joy that Victor brings.”

It’s notable that Fox, who was hampered by an ankle injury during the finals run, is participating. He missed time last offseason after coming off wrist surgery in March, then suffered a hamstring strain in the lead-up to training camp. At the same time, Wembanyama was ramping up his conditioning after undergoing treatment to remove a blood clot from his shoulder, which shut his 2024-25 season down in February. A healthy offseason for the Spurs’ starters will be vital to starting strong come October.

Wembanyama’s training program last summer was rooted in a mission to push himself to the next level, and not just get back to where he was before the blood clot. He famously trained with Shaolin monks in China, then returned to the U.S. and put himself through a punishing conditioning program.

“I chose to do something much more violent,” Wembanyama said before last season. “Maybe that takes away from some time I can spend on shooting the basketball, but it doesn’t matter. I wanted to get my body back.”

That work paid off, as he showed his body could stand up to the demands of a championship run. Though he faded down the stretch at times and did not lead San Antonio to a finals victory, it was a drastic step forward from where he was a year earlier. It was proof that he has the tools to do it all, but just requires more development.

It also provided a sense of closure to move on from the health concerns of the past. But Wembanyama must always be mindful of his past blood clot scare, as former NBA All-Star Chris Bosh emphasized this week.

“Take your medicine,” Bosh, whose career was cut short by multiple blood clot episodes and who recently had a pulmonary embolism, told HoopsHype. “Make sure that he’s staying on top of his regimen to make sure that doesn’t happen again because it only takes one more time. It happened one more time for me, it happened twice, and I couldn’t play anymore. So I guess with him, just making sure he does everything necessary to keep that blood as thin as possible and take care of that body off the court.”

All indications are that Wembanyama has done everything possible to position himself for long-term success. Now that his body is where it needs to be, that leaves room to get more shots up, no matter where he is in the world. And so far, there’s a specific zone of the floor that he is emphasizing.

In a video posted by the Spurs, Wembanyama is shown hitting a “Dirk Fade,” the signature one-footed fadeaway shot from the post that was pioneered by Mavericks Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki. It’s an important step in one of his main offseason training priorities: developing a more robust post game.

back in the lab 🧪 pic.twitter.com/TjimYAF39q

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) July 27, 2026

Wembanyama went off to France after the NBA Finals, signing his contract extension there as he began his offseason training. He then returned to Texas and participated in workouts at Fox’s home gym, with Harris and Barnes included. Wembanyama also spent more time working with Hakeem Olajuwon, who helped him build out his post game last summer.

One of Wembanyama’s key vulnerabilities in the later stages of the postseason was his ability to create his own shot consistently. Throughout the season, he was able to play through his teammates for the most part, serving as a fulcrum for the offense as a screener or lurking near the hoop.

But when advanced defenses threw a wrench in the Spurs’ system in the playoffs — which is how it usually goes for most teams — he struggled to find his rhythm as a scorer. In the last eight games of the postseason, Wembanyama only hit half of his shots twice. That isn’t completely out of the ordinary for a star player, as Jalen Brunson did the same. However, Brunson has the ball in his hands most of the time, while Wembanyama generally functions as more of an endpoint. He is supposed to be creating more efficient looks than a small pick-and-roll creator. The Spurs will need his numbers to reflect that to reach their potential.

A core theme of the last two rounds was Wembanyama’s battle for positioning against big men such as Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. His catches against the Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks were often off-balance, preventing him from getting the type of leverage he needed to get the best angle to the rim. He didn’t have a consistent midrange jumper or running hook to fall back on when getting to the rim proved too challenging.

This summer, Wembanyama is continuing to seek out the players who dominated those spaces in the past, learning their ways as he chases the consistency that comes with time.

“All the footwork stuff, things that look easy but aren’t, but he makes them easier,” Wembanyama said of working with Olajuwon in an interview with ESPN last season. “But more than that, it was the advice that comes with experience. Nothing can replace experience.”

Wembanyama and the Spurs got as much experience as they could this past season, learning their limitations and providing a map to reach their ultimate goal. Wembanyama was dominant, yet showed he has so much room to grow.

But if last summer was about getting his feet under him and getting stronger than ever, this summer gives him the chance to figure out exactly what he wants to do with those feet.

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Jared Weiss is a staff writer covering the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama for The Athletic. He has covered the Celtics since 2011, co-founding CLNS Media Network while in college before covering the team for SB Nation’s CelticsBlog and USA Today. Before coming to The Athletic, Weiss spent a decade working for the government, primarily as a compliance bank regulator. You can follow Jared on X @JaredWeissNBA.