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SALT LAKE CITY — Rudy Gobert slowly scrolled through his phone, a look of disappointment on his face. It was moments after the Jazz had suffered a defeat at Indianapolis, and he was understandably not too pleased.
But then he looked at a team staff member and asked, “Are the kids ready?”
At select Jazz games, even away ones, Gobert donates $1,000 per block to an organization of his choice.
Gobert donated to charities on two stops of Utah’s recently completed road trip. In Milwaukee, he donated money based on the three blocks by Tony Bradley to Wisconsin’s Silver Spring Neighborhood because he sat out. Two nights later in Indianapolis, he donated to Art with a Heart.
Both of those games ended with Jazz losses. They ended with Gobert being disappointed and even mad. But after meeting the kids — who are often wearing the jerseys of Jazz opponents when the Jazz are on the road — those emotions always seem to change.
“It means everything. Sometimes when you lose a game, you win a game, you get stuck in a bubble,” Gobert said. “By doing that, it helps me have an impact on the younger generations and also realize that there are bigger things than basketball. You have a bad game and you just lost, you're pissed about your game but you go out there, there are some kids waiting for you. You go out there and It just makes me happy.”
Turns out, there were some happy moments during Utah's 1-4 road trip after all.
Gobert started the Rudy’s Kids Foundation about three years ago because he wanted to help kids — and not just in Utah or in his home country of France. He said donating based off blocks came up randomly, but they tried it once and it just kept going. And considering he as averaged over 2.0 blocks since starting the program, it’s been pretty good to plenty of charities as well.
Past recipients include ShelterKids and Salt Lake County Youth Services, Utah Refugee Connection, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Sacramento.
Tonight's Blocks will benefit Art with a Heart. They help create equitable access to high-quality visual arts education for children and youth in Indiana. Go Rudy! pic.twitter.com/irTDfMmPop
— Rudys Kids Foundation (@RudysFoundation) November 27, 2019
“That's not the only thing that we do, but it's a pretty really cool thing to do,” Gobert said. “It's not about just doing things in Utah, or doing things in France. It's doing things everywhere.”
Gobert also likes how he gets to help some lesser-known charities. Art with a Heart, for instance, provides equitable opportunities for visual arts education to Indianapolis children and youth. That’s not the usual type that gets support from NBA players. Let alone from players not on the local team.
“I think there's a lot of charities that do a remarkable job, you know, they just don't have much support,” Gobert said. “So it's an opportunity for us to help them do what they do — which is help children and also put light on what they do. By doing that you know we are working together.”
Gobert is far from the only Jazz player doing community work.
On Tuesday, Mike Conley had a video game stream to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Dante Exum is purchasing needed items and delivering them to Candy Cane Corner, which provides families with a meaningful and empowering holiday shopping experience.
Joe Ingles and his wife, Renae, will donate funds to help five families from Spectrum Academy with gifts this holiday season. Georges Niang and Royce O’Neale will make a donation to support Candy Cane Lane, which is a holiday shopping experience to benefit women and families staying at the YWCA.
“At the end of the day, it doesn't matter where the kids are from, doesn't matter what it is, we're able to have an impact,” Gobert said.
