Led by captains Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul, the conferences will compete against each other in four All-Star competitions. In addition to this, NBA Cares and State Farm will make a joint donation of $500,000 as part of the event, with $350,000 going to the winning conference’s charities and $150,000 to the runner-up conference’s charities. Selected by their captains, the Eastern Conference will be representing Big Brothers Big Sisters and Make-A-Wish America, while the Western Conference will be representing Boys & Girls Club of America and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.

“State Farm All-Star Saturday Night is a night for the fans and the events provide some of the most memorable moments in NBA history,” Paul told the NBA. “Not only are we playing for bragging rights, but we are also raising money for charity, so it is definitely going to be a great night.”

Dwyane Wade is looking forward to the competition, but is excited about putting on a show for the fans and raising money for charity.

“I’m honored to serve as the captain and represent the Eastern Conference in the first All-Star Saturday Night that will feature the East taking on the West,” Wade mentioned to the NBA. “We are looking forward to a night of rivalries, great competition, and most of all, putting on a great show for the fans.”

As part of the new format, points earned by each conference during the competitions will determine the conference that earns the title of 2013 State Farm All-Star Saturday Night Champion.

State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will take place on February 16^th at the Toyota Center in Houston. The event will consist of Sears Shooting Stars, a competition featuring NBA and WNBA players, as well as NBA legends; the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, a contests of top guards working against the clock to complete a series of passes, free throws, layups and agility drills; the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest; and the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

The 62^nd NBA All-Star Game will take place the following day at the Toyota Center, which will also host the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. The NBA All-Star Jam Session will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which will also host the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and the Sprint Pregame Concert.

The concert will feature acts from Grammy Award-winner hip-hop artist Ludacris, Grammy Award-nominated hip-hop artist B.o.B and pop sensation Ke$ha. Ludacris and B.o.B will open up the show with a live performance during NBA TV’s coverage of the Sprint Pregame Concert at 6:00 P.M. ET, while Ke$ha will hit the stage to perform during the live telecast on TNT starting at 7 P.M. ET.

The Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will air live on ESPN from the Sprint Arena at NBA All-Star Jam Session on Friday, February 15 at 7 P.M. ET. The game will feature celebrities from film, TV and music, as well as NBA legends and WNBA players.

During the NBA All-Star weekend, the NBA will continue to lend a hand in the community through NBA Cares events. NBA Cares will partner with schools, government, and local non-profit organizations in Houston and surrounding areas to highlight the league’s grassroots and community initiatives that reach millions of young people and their parents while providing critical resources to community-based programs.

The initiative began during the week of Thanksgiving, where teams from both the NBA and NBA Development League found many ways throughout the week to lend a helping hand in the community that supports them on a daily basis.

During the week NBA and NBA D-League teams were active in the community serving up Thanksgiving meals to families in need. Whether it was an entire team event or not, players were out in the community representing their respective teams and made sure to make a difference one way or another.

Here’s a look at some of the things that the NBA and NBA D-League teams did for their community:

Nov. 19:

• Boston Celtics guard Jason Terry provided Thanksgiving meals to 100 families at the Shelburne Community Center.
• The Los Angeles Lakers, led by Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace, served Thanksgiving dinner to mentoring pairs from Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters at Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que in Torrance.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted a holiday carnival for families at the City Rescue Mission.
• Sacramento Kings players helped cook and serve a complete Thanksgiving dinner to 500 individuals at the Trinity Life Center.
• Washington Wizards hosted the Food 4 Families drive at the Verizon Center.  Throughout the day, staff, front office executives, players, coaches and wives collected canned goods and monetary donations from fans.

   

Nov. 20:

• The entire Atlanta Hawks team, coaching staff and executives joined United Way to serve a Thanksgiving meal to 300 individuals at Clarkston Community Center.
• Charlotte Bobcats players distributed 1,000 meals to families in need from the Cats Care Mobile Pantry at the Time Warner Arena and hosted a special Thanksgiving dinner at a local bowling alley for 200 families from A Child’s Place.
• Cleveland Cavaliers players served Thanksgiving dinner to 200 guests from Project Act at the Quicken Loans Arena practice court.
• The Dallas Mavericks hosted the 15^th Annual Mavs Turkey Dunk for 100 boys and girls from the Salvation Army at the American Airlines Center.
• Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee helped sponsor the 21^st Annual City of Oakland Turkey Dinner, which served thousands of low-income or homeless seniors, families and individuals.
• The Miami Heat hosted the 21^st Annual Heat Thanksgiving Celebration, a block party event for area residents.  In addition, 600 underprivileged families received an entire Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings from the Miami Heat.
• Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook and his Foundation provided Thanksgiving meals to 800 disadvantaged individuals in his hometown of South Central Los Angeles and in Oklahoma City.
• The Orlando Magic fed approximately 1,100 Central Florida children and families through Thanksgiving meal distributions on November 20 and 22. J.J. Redick hosted a meal distribution at the Rosemont Community Center on Nov. 20.
• The Utah Jazz hosted its Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for thousands of homeless and low-income residents on the EnergySolutions Arena concourse.
• The Springfield Armor served Thanksgiving meals to families in need at the YMCA of Greater Springfield.

   

Nov. 21:

• The Golden State Warriors players hosted a special postgame meet and greet with families in the Bay Area most in need during the holiday season. They surprised the participating families with Warriors gift bags and other goodies and mingled with the families, signed autographs and posed for photos.
• The Tulsa 66ers assisted the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope by serving meals to homeless residents.

   

Nov. 22:

• The Orlando Magic hosted a Thanksgiving Breakfast at the Coalition for the Homeless.  Participants included Magic players Jameer Nelson, Glen Davis and Maurice Harkless, along with Head Coach Jacque Vaughn, CEO Alex Martins, General Manager Rob Hennigan, and Community Ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw.

   

Nov. 23:

• The Orlando Magic teamed up with the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida in recognition of National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Month in November.  The team donated $10 from every ticket purchased for the November 23 game vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Coalition.

One week following the Thanksgiving events, NBA Cares Season of Giving continued with their initiative, this time with their focus on Worlds AIDS Day, which took place on December 1, 2012.

Through a variety of partnerships, including the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Greater Than AIDS campaign, GBCHealth, and (RED)^TM, the league and its teams generated awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS education and research through special on-court apparel and in-arena activation.

Players from all the 28 NBA and NBA D-League teams that competed on December 1, 2012, wore red-and-white adidas shooting shirts featuring the NBA Logoman wearing an AIDS awareness ribbon, along with red headbands and wristbands, and the coaches wore the ribbons as well. In addition to this, NBA TV studio turned red in honour of World AIDS Day and featured two NBA games: Brooklyn at Miami and Sacramento at L.A. Clippers.

“So many lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS,” Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook told the NBA. “Silence can be the biggest challenge to fighting this devastating disease. Together, we can lend our voices to help generate more awareness and knowledge to everyone.”

Teams raised additional awareness in-arena by providing fans with educational materials and donation opportunities and through in-game messaging and public service announcements, including a Greater Than AIDS public service announcement featuring NBA stars Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers, Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and WNBA star Candice Wiggins of the Minnesota Lynx.

As part of their longstanding commitment to supporting social causes related to health and wellness, the league and its players have supported HIV/AIDS research and education in a variety of ways including public service announcements, leadership with GBCHealth, HIV/AIDS testing and grassroots activities, education workshops, and charitable donations.

For more information on NBA Cares Season of Giving, visit http://www.nba.com/cares/seasonofgiving2012.html

For more information on Greater Than, visit http://www.greaterthan.org/

Drafted 2^nd overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics at the time, Durant was speculated to go first overall in the draft but was beaten out by Greg Oden as the Portland Trail Blazers took him with the first selection. Shortly after being drafted by the SuperSonics, Durant was offered contracts from both Adidas ($70 million) and Nike ($60 million) for seven years. As a lifetime supporter of Nike, Durant decided to sign with Nike over Adidas and was signed to the second highest endorsement contract as a rookie; only LeBron James ranks higher than Durant in that category.

In his first season in the NBA, Durant did nothing but impress the world. He was the NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for five months during the season, won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He became just the third teenager to average more than 20 points per game throughout a season and became the first player in NBA history to score 42 points at such a young age (19 years 200 days). His average of 20.3 points per game were good enough to help him set a new record amongst the SuperSonics organization as he broke a 40-year old record for most points per game throughout the season by a rookie.

By the end of the season, the SuperSonics knew that their time was up in Seattle as there was a lot of talk about the team relocating to Oklahoma City, especially after the city showed how welcoming they are to the NBA and having their own team after the Hornets temporarily relocated there from 2005-07 after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant did what was expected of him since draft day and that was becoming the new face of the organization.  He represented the Sophomores in the Rookie/Sophomore T-Mobile Challenge where he took home MVP honors for setting a new record for points scored with 46. He was also asked to take place in the first ever H-O-R-S-E contest; beating out Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson and Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo in the event.

If his first two seasons in the NBA didn’t land Durant on the map of stardom, his third season without a doubt landed him on there. He led Oklahoma City to a 50-win season; won his second straight H-O-R-S-E competition; he coached the Rookies at the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge; was named to his first All-Star team and became the youngest player in NBA history to win the NBA Scoring Title. He finished second in votes behind LeBron James for MVP voting and posted 25 or more points in 29 straight games which was good enough for the second longest streak in league history. At the end of the season he was named to the 2010 All-NBA First Team along with fellow superstars LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. Aside from all the honors and awards that came along with the 2009-10 season; Durant showed how mature he had become by helping the Thunder clinch a playoff spot in the heavily talented Western Conference. It was the first taste of the playoffs for both himself and the organization but it was just the beginning of what was and what is to come for the talented Thunder team.

Prior to this past season, Durant signed an extension with the Thunder that would make him roughly $86 million over the next five years with the team. He helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship where he was also named the Tournament MVP. He broke more records with USA as he recorded the most points in a tournament (205) and most points in a single game (38). He became the spokesperson for P’Tones Records; a non-profit after school music program in his native city of Washington, D.C. He helped P’Tones apply for the Pepsi Refresh Grant to receive a $250,000 grant so they could build studios across the United States and provide high school students with hands-on recording skills and insight into the music industry.

He had a holiday celebration for 120 kids in Oklahoma City during Christmas time courtesy of Citizens Caring for Children; which saw each of the kids enjoy a pizza party courtesy of Pizza Hut, games, hoops and face painting. Aside from the pizza party and events that took place, each child left the celebration with a Nike backpack that contained Kevin’s favourite things such as: an iPod Shuffle; iTunes gift card; Skullcandy headphones; and Nike gear. He also presented Citizens Caring for Children with a flat-screen television, a Nintendo Wii, an Xbox 360 and games for the facility’s activity room.

Another tradition for the Thunder, especially around the holidays, is to treat a family in need to groceries. The Thunder teamed up with Homeland Stores to treat a family selected from the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and/or the Salvation Army of Oklahoma to a grocery shopping spree. Durant took a 25-year old single woman who is the sole caretaker of her six nieces and nephews all within the age range of seven months and seven years old out on a grocery shopping spree and later gave her a $500 gift card to help her with groceries in the future.

Kevin Durant has never forgotten where he came from and where it all began. He spent a lot of time at the Seat Pleasant Activity Center and he realizes how much that place did for him in terms of growing up and playing basketball for a living. He donated $25,000 to the center so they could renovate their game room and lounge area. Thanks to Durant’s donation, the center was successfully refurbished and is now known as Durant’s Den. The center was able to put in a brand new vinyl floor made to replicate a basketball court, two 55-inch LCD flat-screen televisions, a projection screen, an Xbox 360, a PlayStation 3, bar stools, couches and lounge chairs. Aside from the money he has donated to the center, Durant has also donated school supplies, shoes, sports equipments and uniforms whenever the center has requested help.

He understands how blessed he is and how far he has come to get to the point he is at right now. After re-signing with the Thunder he tweeted “God Is Great, me and my family came a long way” on his Twitter. One of the youngest players in the NBA; Durant has made a sudden impact on the league in every way possible.  A player with a lot of talent and skill, you can tell he is one person who doesn’t take any of it for granted. He knows that the only thing he can do from here on in is get better and that’s exactly what he is doing. As his game and leadership continue to grow year after year on the court, he is becoming the mature and responsible athlete people were expecting him to become off the court and gives back in any situation that he can. He is very grateful to those who have supported him and to those who continue to support him every single day of his life.

At a time like this any help is appreciated and five-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard is taking the initiative. Howard, alongside his D12 Foundation made their way to Alabama today to visit residents and areas destroyed by the disaster and work alongside Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham in the rebuilding of 10 homes damaged or destroyed on April 27, 2011.  The man they call ‘Superman’ has called upon fans to donate not only money to the D12 Foundation, but to also make the trip to Alabama to physically assist in relief efforts.

Dwight will tour Tuscaloosa visiting sites and families affected, as well as participate in the Boys State Celebration of food and fun to bring all the joy they can to families affected by the storms. A cheque will also be presented to the Tuscaloosa Disaster Relief Fund on behalf of Howard and the D12 Foundation.

Dwight Howard has a constant history of helping others not only in Central Florida and Southern states, but also around the world. Howard received honors as the 2010-11 Rich & Helen Community Enrichment Award winner, marking the fifth time the five-time All-Star has won the award. It is times of desperation and need like we are seeing in states like Alabama and all areas affected by the recent surge of tornados that we need a true hero. Dwight Howard has always accepted his role as a hero and today he has showed once again why he deserves the title ‘Superman’.

Visit www.d12foundation.org for all information regarding Dwight and the D12 Foundation.

To learn more about the Tuscaloosa Disaster Relief Fund, visit http://www.givetuscaloosa.com/

The playoffs are always the most important time for any professional North American athlete; from a busy playing schedule to the pressure of reporters and the faithful fans that can get carried away at times, the playoffs are the big show. Dwight Howard left all he had out on the court and still didn’t hesitate to lend his name and time to Big Brothers Big Sisters; giving to a cause that he connects with on a deep level.

On Valentine’s Day of this year ‘Superman’ started the D12 Foundation; an organization which focuses on creating a positive impact on the lives of children across the world. Just last week Howard was named the Celebrity Ambassador of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Start Something campaign. The national campaign urges all adults to show support for quality, long-term mentoring for children who face adversity overcome the odds. Alongside his D12 Foundation, Howard has donated $10,000 to the campaign.

Since being drafted to the NBA in 2004, Howard has continued to show his loyalty to local Orlando causes and has used his NBA career and faith in God to give back and lend a hand to those in need. His need for giving has not gone unnoticed, as he was awarded the Rich & Helen Devos Community Enrichment Award (CEA) for 2010-11, marking the 4^th consecutive year he has received the award and his 5^th time in total.

During his time with the Magic, Dwight Howard has been named to the NBA All-Star team five times to go along with the five Community Enrichment Awards to solidify him as more than just a franchise player. He is a dedicated teammate and has more than the will to win, while continuing to empower today’s youth with the proper tools they need to succeed.

To learn more about the Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Start Something campaign, visit http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962351/k.42EB/We_are_here_to_start_something.htm

To learn more about D12 Foundation, visit http://www.d12foundation.org/

From the very second his high school playing days began to his time as a breakout star at Wake Forest University, Chris Paul was considered a highly-toted prospect pretty much since he first laced up his sneakers and put on a jersey. When the New Orleans Hornets selected Paul 4^th overall, he was also arguably the most coveted player heading into the 2005 NBA Draft and they got everything they expected and a whole lot more from their prized point guard. Paul made his impact immediately in the big league winning NBA Rookie of the Year in 2006. His long list of accolades includes an Olympic Gold Medal, four All-Star appearances and recognition as a member of both an All-Defensive and All-NBA team.

Despite all the awards and praise that he receives due to his dominant all-around play, the humble Paul is probably most proud of his two NBA Community Assist Awards that he’s received for the vast amount of community work that he does off the court.

Chris Paul and his family established the CP3 Foundation in 2005 in honour of his late grandfather. The foundation focuses on enriching the lives of underprivileged youth in the communities of Winston-Salem (Chris’ hometown) and New Orleans (the city he now calls home). Paul hosts countless events that have become staples of the organization, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past five years. The Chris Paul Winston-Salem Weekend is a three-day celebration of the star’s hometown where the community comes together to promote volunteerism and pride within their locale. The Nathaniel Jones Scholarship Fund (in memory of Chris’ grandfather) annually awards a Forsyth County student the opportunity to attend Wake Forest University, while the CP3 Afterschool Zone provides children in New Orleans with a positive afterschool environment to teach them responsibility so they can learn and grow.

Along with all these notable events and programs, the CP3 Foundation has teamed up to assist a variety of other prominent charities including: The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Feed The Children and the Make A Wish Foundation, while also providing a helping hand to the relief efforts in Haiti (CP3’s foundation raised over $61,000 towards rebuilding Haiti after the earthquake). Paul also hosts a number of free basketball camps and clinics every year to share his immense knowledge and love for his sport while encouraging physical activity among today’s youth. An avid bowler and golfer, his annual Celebrity Bowling Tournament and CP3 Golf Classic teams pros with celebrities for a day of fun all while raising money for his award-winning foundation.

Whether it’s helping to make his communities better places to live, promoting healthy, beneficial lifestyles among young people or supplying the troops overseas with both physical objects and moral support, Chris Paul has set an excellent example of how one should put their talents and good fortune to use for the benefit of others.

In a league where many of its players egos are larger than their salaries (‘The Decision’ anyone?), it’s refreshing to see that there are still some NBA players out there that care enough to make a difference and are so willing to give back to the communities that have given so much to them. So whether he’s unleashing his deadly accurate 3-ball, practicing his lay-ups or dunking on Dwight Howard on the court, you can guarantee that Chris Paul is doing even more impressive things off the court using the same unselfish attitude that’s helped him pile up a career average of 10 assists per game, while implementing the same hard-working mentality that’s earned him four straight All-Star appearances. Chris Paul, an All-Star in every sense of the word. His grandfather would be proud.

For more information on Chris’ charity and to find out how you can donate or contribute, visit www.cp3foundation.org