Filed under: Bucks, Rockets, Timberwolves
PARADE Magazine published a list of the nation's top 30 celebrity donors of 2007, as researched by The Giving Back Fund. Athletes (current and former) make up a good portion of the list. But the NBA is easily the most well-represented sport, with six of the 10 athletes. (There are no players connected to Major League Baseball or the NFL on the list.)
Here are the NBA reps:
* Michael Jordan, who donated $5 million to Hales Franciscan High School.
* Richard Jefferson of the Bucks, who donated $3.5 million to the University of Arizona. (Worries about Gilbert Arenas getting to it first reportedly led to the big donation.)
* Tracy McGrady, who donated $1 million to Darfur awareness and education projects. (Mac has been loud about the project for a year.)
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* Mike Miller of the Timberwolves, who donated $1 million to help a South Dakota children's hospital. (You can read a local write-up here.)
* Jerry West, who donated $800,000 to West Virginia University.
* David Robinson, who donated almost $800,000 to programs focused on education, feeding the hungry, and mentoring.
Loads more NBA players -- and every single NBA team -- donate time and money to various great causes. We all have some issue with David Stern, but he has really turned the league into an organization that makes caring about the community more than a motto. The NBA really does care.
