Charity Exhibition

Lillard Held a Concert

The day after all three teams had finished their team meetings, there were no games.

The 48 players from the four semifinalist teams were taken to a children's hospital near the Philippines for a charity visit.

This was another way this year's Basketball World Cup differed from previous years.

Why had the NBA done so well?

It wasn't just because its games were more entertaining than international basketball.

It had also pulled ahead of other sports leagues in many other areas, such as its commitment to human welfare.

The NBA often held charity events where players visited and comforted people in need.

Some teams even signed children to one- or two-day contracts.

For example, the Jazz had once signed JP Gibson, a five-year-old boy with leukemia, to a one-day contract, then let him play in a special preseason game.

They hadn't just gone through the motions for show.

They had held a grand signing ceremony for Gibson.

They had held a press conference.

They had made an announcement on their official website.

A team reporter had even written a special report: The Jazz announced today that they had signed five-year-old free-agent guard JP Gibson to a one-day contract. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, in accordance with team policy.

The two points Gibson scored in the game counted, too.

Every step of the process had been exactly the same as if they'd signed a real player.

Most importantly, if you searched his name in any online encyclopedia now, it would say: Professional basketball player, former Jazz player.

That was what the NBA had gotten right.

Just imagine how happy the now fourteen-year-old Gibson must have been when he saw "former Jazz player" listed under his name online.

And how important that was to helping