Whenever elite basketball is in town, it is not a matter of dunks and buzzer-beaters. At times, it is about repayment. That is precisely what occurred in Macao last month, when the NBA China Games 2025 were not merely pre-season games, but a catalyst for actual impact at the community level.
With the help of a 5-day program known as NBA Cares × Sands Cares Community Impact Week, which was conducted on October 812, thousands of students, families, and underserved residents received not only a show, but direct access to basketball training, mentorship, and support. The event was sponsored by Sands China and included NBA legends, current players, and local partners coming together with a common objective of serving a community with the help of sport.
Pre-Season Games to Purposeful Engagement.
As many are drawn to the actual games, which included two exciting matches on October 10 and 12 at The Venetian Macao, the outreach was the core of the week. Visiting participants of the local schools, students of the rural areas of China, and families who were in some way related to the game interacted in a new way, which they had never experienced before.
Highlights included:
A mentorship session and basketball clinic conducted by such legends as Mitch Richmond, NBA coaches, and involving 200 high school students, and visiting youth of Guizhou and Inner Mongolia.
A boxed lunch and health-kit giveaway to 200 needy residents, with the help of such interviewees as Tim Hardaway and Sands Cares Ambassadors at the Pou Choi Centre of Fuhong Society.
An NBA House family-friendly community basketball carnival and games day where more than 120 guests representing local social-service organisations can have interactive fun with legends such as Shawn Marion and celebrity ambassador David Beckham.
A dedicated girls’ clinic called Her Time to Play, hosted by WNBA star Myisha Hines-Allen and ex-NBA guard Deron Williams, where young female athletes would be trained and inspired.
Why It Matters: More than Basketball.
The dunk is an art form, but that was the bridge that was constructed between world sport and the community of people this week. Sands China and the NBA have made visiting Macao a journey of meaningful experience, rather than a show. The success of the initiative, according to Dr. Wilfred Wong of Sands China, depended on the enthusiastic involvement of NBA Legends, as well as the full involvement of students and teachers of Macao, and those who came to visit the Chinese Mainland.
In the case of Macao, which has always been seen as a land of tourism and entertainment, this was an opportunity to demonstrate sport as a growth, mentorship, and inclusive opportunity. In the case of the NBA, it strengthened its mission around the world: to bring communities together by sport, increase participation among young people, and to embrace the ideals of teamwork, learning, and respect.
My Reflection: Making a difference and being authentic.
This is what is interesting: it was not a photo-op. It was not glory-seeking athlete celebrities on a media spurt. The process of the week, clinics, giveaways, girl programs, and family events all addressed substance abuse.
The long-term investment of Sands China in serving the community, combined with the star power of the NBA, was an authentic change of direction.
Young girls in Macao can not only be trained by former pros, but a lunch-kit giveaway by local volunteers is not only outreach, but an investment in the future. Such events as the “Her Time to Play” are indicative of a change in sports philanthropy; that is, access and empowerment are equal to glitter and highlight reels.
