Basketball is one of the biggest sports in the world and it has an important role in climate change. The NBA itself is taking part in this change by reducing the carbon footprint from the competition.
From stadiums being packed with fans, food, cans, and a lot of waste, the NBA is trying to reduce the impact of the sport on the planet. However, we want to go deeper and find out the individual thoughts about climate change from athletes in the league.
Athletes also have a lot of impacts worldwide. They are often looked at as role models and fans usually do similar things as their all-time favorite athletes. This means that an eco-friendly team and / or athlete from the NBA league can change people’s mindset about their impact on the world more than anybody else. This is where NBA stars can use their fame and popularity for good and set an example for people to follow.
Let’s go through the list and find out which athletes have the most eco-friendly mentality.
Lauri Markkanen
The Chicago Bulls star is not just good on the court, but also as a person that devotes his life in order to make a change. Lauri is a big eco-friendly mentalist that has been involved in many activities where the goal is to minimize our carbon footprint. His most successful campaign is called #DontChoke and it is about limiting the number of red meat people eat just to reduce the carbon footprint. He also partnered with many big companies like Nestle, which is Finland’s biggest energy company in a fight to protect the environment.
Markkanen often uses his social media profiles to update people about his mission and eco-friendly lifestyle. He also drives an electric car, and he is recycling almost everything and has strict limits about the use of electricity. Does this mean that he doesn’t watch NBA in his free time?
Portland Trailblazers
Portland Trailblazers are members of the Green Sports Alliance and they are trying to lower their impact on the environment for years now. The Moda Center is one of the most eco-friendly arenas in the league.
Additionally, the team has taken part in many eco-actions such as their Threes for Trees campaign which was very successful. They partnered with Daimler Trucks and they agreed that the company will plant one tree for every three-pointer scored during the season. They planted 3,000 trees that year.
Danilo Gallinari
Danilo Gallinari is an Italian basketball player that currently plays for Atlanta Hawks and in Italy’s men’s national basketball team. He started supporting climate change actions a few years ago after realizing that his carbon footprint is really big.
Gallinari started a campaign called #BigFootLittleFootprint which was very successful. He teamed up with many organizations such as Stand For Trees with a goal to change people’s behavior. He is mostly concerned about forests and says that they are the equilibrium of the world.
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors is not only the team where Steph Curry, one of the best point guards in NBA history, according to TwinSpires.com, plays. They pride themselves on being one of the most environmentally focused teams in the league. They’ve not only adopted eco-friendly standards for their team’s arena but also their headquarters.
One of their recent initiatives was focused upon recycling water bottles at the team’s headquarters. There are more than 67,000 water bottles used annually which will pollute the planet if not recycled properly.
Miami Heat
Miami Heat is the first team to achieve LEED certification for its arena. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. The certification sets the standards for eco-friendly architecture across the US. In fact, American Airlines Arena is one of the first stadiums to get a gold certificate.
Final Words
These are some of the NBA athletes and teams that participate in eco-friendly activities. They certainly can do much more. Especially if players use their popularity to go on a mission to make the world a better place.
