Dwight Powell has always been one of my favorite Dallas Mavericks players, both on and off the court, and has shown steady progress; however, on January 21 of this past season, he “went down” with a serious ruptured Achilles tendon as he was patrolling under the basket.
That ended his 6th season “on the court,” but not “off the court!”
The NBA announced that certain players “leveraged their platforms and voices to engage, empower, and support different communities amidst the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic and social justice movement following continued incidents of racialized violence against Black men and women.
Five players were honored, and Powell is the 1st Mavericks player to be chosen for the “full-season honor,” since the award has been given, starting in 2012. Harrison Barnes of the Kings, Jaylen Brown of the Celtics, George Hill of the Bucks, and Chris Paul of the Thunder, shared the 5-player honor with Powell.
I won’t try to list all the charitable endeavors and the social assistances Dwight Powell made this past year, but suffice it to say that he was a ”workhorse” despite having a “leg-cart and a foot-cast” much of the time.
Powell spoke and said that “It is always bigger than basketball, especially for us in Dallas. I think we have always been aware of the support our Community provides us, and we would not be able to play this game without our families, without our fans, without our communities…..and it is crucial for us to understand that there are things more important than basketball.”
“We are still living in this country and reaping the fruits of this nation. We also have to help grow this nation in any way we can to make it a better, safer place for everyone…..”
Last week the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, singled out Dwight Powell, OK City’s Chris Paul, and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry for their work in planning the League’s “re-start” and its intricate details and understanding and making known the needs of the players, the teams, and the League.
Powell, before just playing 40 games this season due to his injury, missed only a total of 10 games the past entire three seasons, but he had a great impact upon what might be the longest NBA season in the past, present, or future!
Congratulations to Dwight Powell.
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