For most people, winning the BIG3 MVP award would be enough work for one summer. Kevin Murphy is not most people. After his phenomenal season in the BIG3, Murphy will be heading overseas to play professionally.
Before he went over, he made sure to make time to give back to his community.
On Sunday, September 11th, Kevin Murphy and his BANG Up Foundation hosted an event called “Community Run” in Murphy’s hometown of College Park, Georgia.
BANG Up stands for Believe And Never Give Up. It is a community empowerment organization that focuses on providing resources and programming to local community sports, education, and activations. According to Murphy, “BANG Up is a code that I live by. I truly believe if you put your mind to anything you can achieve it. I know it’s cliche, but it’s true.”
The September 11th event focused on basketball. Both local high school and rec league players got a chance to spend time with Murphy and other professional players. There was a stretching and yoga session led by Murphy’s trainers and a local yoga instructor. After that, the attendees ran live drills, and even got to play pick-up with and against professional players.
There were also motivational speakers from the basketball and entertainment world. Finally, smoothies and acai bowls were provided after a short presentation from a sports nutritionist.
Murphy wants to use this event as a blueprint to begin monthly programming for the BANG up foundation. He believes it will have a significant effect on young people in his hometown: “Me coming from the same community as some of the players and giving them actual proof that BANG Up actually works and an actual physical reference gives inspiration. It’s motivation for me to see the youth go after their dreams, and any time I can show love, I’m there for it.”
Murphy is going above and beyond with the BANG Up Foundation, just like he did during the 2022 BIG3 season. He went all-out on the court last year, and he’s continuing to go all-out in the offseason. That’s one of the things that makes the BIG3 so special, and it’s fantastic to see the newly-minted MVP being a role model and giving back to his community.
