Tim Thomas, the most successful basketball player ever to emerge from Paterson, N.J., plans to give back to the “Silk City” by launching the “Paterson NBA” Pro-Am this summer.
The league is working in partnership with the “Guns Down, Life Up” organization and with Ballers Convention, which promotes the slogan, “Shoot Basketballs, Not People.”
The league will have 12 teams, including two comprised of local high school players, and will run on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from June 12-September 15 at Paterson Kennedy and Paterson Eastside High Schools. Fans can attend games for free.
Thomas and current NBA players Tyshawn Taylor and Kenneth Faried are among those on the rosters.
“This is mainly for our city,” Thomas, the 36-year-old former Paterson (N.J.) Catholic star who played for numerous NBA teams, including the Knicks, 76ers and Bulls, told SNY.tv.
“We’re not concerned with media coverage. We’re just trying to do this for our city and save our youth. There’s a lot of crime and murders.”
Thomas said the league wanted to promote a “generational” feeling in which high school players could compete against current college and NBA players, as well some of the legends of Paterson like Thomas and James Hargrove.
“We’re just trying to to bring awareness to the youth to put these guns down and keep them out of our system so they can be successful at something in their life besides getting caught up in the streets,” Thomas said.
Two 12-man high school teams will compete in the league and will feature six players each from Kennedy and Eastside and four apiece from Passaic and Passaic Tech.
Thomas said it was also possible that various college players from Paterson such as Myles Mack of Rutgers and Fuquan Edwin of Seton Hall could also compete in their spare time.
“If they’re in town I would love for them to come and play a game or two,” Thomas said.
“That way the younger kids and the high school kids can have an opportunity to see them and play against them,” Thomas said.
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