NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) today announced that Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. has been named the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for January, in recognition of his commitment to supporting mentorship and addressing food insecurity initiatives.  In honor of his efforts, the NBA and the NBPA Foundation will donate $20,000 to the Bobby Portis Foundation.

With January serving as National Mentoring Month, Portis Jr. has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to supporting youth across Wisconsin, with a focus on building strong mentoring relationships throughout his community efforts.  Driven by his own experiences, he put this belief into practice during a November 2025 visit to the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha, spending time with over 50 young people to share stories and encourage resilience, goal setting, and self-belief.

“Giving back isn’t something I do on the side; it’s who I am,” said Portis Jr.  “I was raised to uplift the people around me, and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without my community pouring into me. So, any time I have a chance to show up, help, or make a kid smile, I’m going to do it.  Using my platform to give back is important to me because it’s bigger than basketball; It’s about making a real impact and helping others feel seen, supported, and inspired to chase their own dreams.”

Currently in its fourth season, Portis Jr’s “Bobby’s Crew” program is a cornerstone of his mentorship efforts.  For every Bucks home game, he donates tickets to nine Milwaukee mentoring organizations, benefitting more than 350 youth each season.  He also sponsors Mentor Greater Milwaukee’s “Mentor of the Game” initiative, spotlighting nine outstanding mentors each year at Bucks home games with special in‑game recognition and custom jerseys.

Portis Jr. additionally helps combat food insecurity, one of Milwaukee’s most pressing needs.  He serves on the Board of Directors for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, where he participates in board meetings, supports major food distribution campaigns and amplifies the organization’s annual PB&J Challenge, which helped donate one million sandwiches for youth in need.  Additionally, he supports the Milwaukee Bucks’ partnership with the Hunger Task Force, where he has sorted 27,000 pounds of food and packed 2,000 healthy meal bags.  Through this community advocacy, he also supports the Versiti Blood Center to raise awareness for blood donation and broader health needs.

This season, Portis Jr. dedicated his community efforts to the Special Olympics, championing athletes with intellectual disabilities. Aspiring to become a Global Ambassador, he uses his platform to ensure all athletes have equal opportunities to compete and thrive.

The NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award honors NBA legend and Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, an NBA League Office executive and NBA Cares Ambassador for more than 30 years.  He had an enormous influence on the NBA family and young people globally, traveling the world to teach the values of the game and making a positive impact through his kindness and generosity.  The legacy he built will continue to live on through the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award, which recognizes the next generation of players’ commitment to positively impacting their communities throughout the NBA season.  Each NBA season has an offseason winner followed by seven monthly award winners.  The offseason winner receives the Bob Lanier trophy, and each monthly winner receives the David Robinson trophy.  The NBA and the NBPA Foundation also make a donation to the charity or foundation of the player’s choice.  To learn more, please visit communityassist.nba.com.

About NBA Social Impact & Inclusion and NBA Cares
NBA Social Impact & Inclusion drives change on issues facing fans and communities by advancing needed resources and proven partners while creating data-driven strategies and programming to impact the NBA ecosystem and empower colleagues to bring their best self to work to drive global success.  NBA Cares works with NBA players and teams to highlight important issues through the NBA’s digital, social and broadcast channels, live events and partnerships.

About the NBPA Foundation
Established in 1997, the National Basketball Players Association Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of its members and providing support and assistance to persons, communities, and organizations throughout the world that seek to improve the lives of those in need. Through grants that match players’ philanthropy and charitable giving, the Foundation highlights and accelerates the real and collaborative work that basketball players do worldwide to build their communities and create meaningful change.