PlayStation, NBA coming to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in June

By Melanie Casey on April 2, 2015

It's not every day that a National Basketball Association legend swings by your local military base to shoot hoops with the fellas. But later this spring, in conjunction with the NBA, Sony PlayStation and the USO, military families on Joint Base Lewis-McChord will have the chance to rub elbows with basketball greatness.

The 2015 PlayStation NBA Cares Hoops for Troops activation event is part of a series of visits this spring to military installations around the country. The JBLM visit, the penultimate in a series of seven, is slated for June 10 to12.

Though details are still being finalized (including exactly which NBA legend will take part), the visit is scheduled to include a variety of events over the two-day period. For instance, two basketball hoops will be donated for either an indoor gym or outdoor court on JBLM. After the hoops are installed and the ceremonial "hanging of the nets" is complete, the NBA player and others will host a basketball clinic for military youth and families. Players will have "hands-on" time with a true NBA legend and learn tricks of the trade from one of the country's best. Participants will also get a free "swag bag" containing PlayStation and NBA gear.

Also on the agenda is a Commitment to Service project, which is aimed at helping get servicemembers involved in their community.

There will also be a PlayStation trailer set up on site - attention, gamers! - in which new and possibly unreleased video games will be available for play. A gaming tournament is slated for the final day of the visit, with prizes including PS4 consoles and games.   

The yet-to-be-named NBA legend is scheduled to play a few of those PS games alongside the servicemembers, and PlayStation plans to donate several PS4 consoles and games to places like the USO and the Warrior Zone.

The locations of the donated hoops, PlayStation consoles and games, gaming trailer and clinic are still to be determined.

Hoops for Troops began nine years ago as a "global social responsibility program for USA Basketball," according to information on its website.

Its programs and events work to provide support for military personnel and their families. PlayStation is the first-ever partner of NBA Cares Hoops for Troops program.

For more information about the program, visit www.nba.com/hoopsfortroops.