After winning the October 2018 NBA Cares Community Assist Award, Dallas Maverick Dwight Powell has been named one of the 10 Finalists for the 2018-2019 Season-Long NBA Cares Community Assist Award. The season-long award honors a player’s strong commitment to positively impacting their communities through sustained efforts over the course of the season. The winning player will receive $25,000 to donate to his charity of choice, a donation from the NBA and Kaiser Permanente.

The fight against cancer is a cause that is near and dear to Powell, as he abruptly lost his mother, Jacqueline Weir, to breast cancer in 2012. It was an incredibly tough time for Powell, as his mother never informed him of the sickness so that he wouldn’t worry about her during his college career. Powell turned his pain into purpose and launched The Dwight Powell Children and Family Support Fund at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas with a mission of providing guidance, education, and resources to help patients and their children cope with cancer.

The Dwight Powell Children and Family Support Fund was made possible by the generous support from Powell after hosting a “A Night of Hope” function back in October. The event raised over $600,000, which will support the fund for three years and is an ongoing mission that he hopes to continue in the future.

“It means a lot,” the five-year veteran said. “Obviously for me personally, but as a player in this league and a member of this franchise I’m proud to say I’m a Maverick because we do things like this and we’re in the community so much.”

Due to his incredible courage and commitment to the fight against cancer, Powell is one of just 10 finalists for the season-long NBA Cares Community Assist Award, with the winner being selected by an NBA executive panel and fan vote.   Fans can vote for Powell via Jebbit, where they can view and select videos highlighting his impact, or on Twitter by using #NBACommunityAssist and @DwightPowell33 or #DwightPowell. Retweets are also counted, and votes cast on the first and last day (April 24 and May 5) will count twice towards a player’s total. Fan voting for the award began on April 24th on social media and will conclude on Sunday, May 5, at 10:59 PM CT. The winner will be announced at the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia on Monday, June 24, on TNT live from historic Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

To learn more, please visit http://www.nba.com/communityassist/.

ABOUT THE DWIGHT POWELL CHILDREN AND FAMILY SUPPORT FUND: A diagnosis in the family introduces a new range of responsibilities and obligations, such as scheduling and attending medical appointments that might conflict with school and social activities. At UT Southwestern’s Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, we understand that a cancer diagnosis has a unique impact on each family member, and we are dedicated to helping provide personalized support.

The Children and Family Support Fund, made possible by generous support from Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks, provides guidance, education, and resources to help patients and their children cope with cancer.

ABOUT NBA CARES: NBA Cares is the league’s global social responsibility program that builds on the NBA’s mission of addressing important social issues.  NBA Cares programs and participants have provided more than 4.7 million hours of hands-on service and created more than 1,250 places where kids and families can live, learn or play in communities around the world.  The NBA also engages more than 26 million youth annually, inspiring play and teaching the values of the game.  NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Special Olympics, YMCA of the USA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Share Our Strength and GLSEN.