The Washington Wizards have a nice tradition going of playing on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day and that continued in 2018 as they hosted the Milwaukee Bucks for a matinee matchup. On Friday, Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel discussed why his team visited Dr. King's memorial before their game in D.C. later that night, "it's just good for our guys to keep a big picture and continue to be enlightened about the world. Obviously there is, sadly, far too much racial injustice in our country and he stood for a lot."
Before Monday's game, here is what Scott Brooks and Jason Kidd had to say about the pastor that was taken away far too soon 50 years ago this April.
"It's a great, great day to celebrate a great man," Brooks began. "We all are thankful for what he did and inspired myself, our staff, the organization, the country. Especially the way things are going now, it's important for us to understand what he accomplished and going forward, there's many in my situation. I was the youngest of seven. You always ask questions, I remember asking my mom a question when I was five or six, 'who was this guy?' You home that you have great role models around you that can share what he accomplished and was getting accomplished during the times. My mom always said, 'he's a special man. He fought for all.' There is always time to do right. There is never not a time to do right. I think that's one of the lessons that I always will have."
Last season, the Wizards were able to visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Brooks would require his Thunder teams to visit the establishment. His takeaways are rpofound and true.
"I think it is important to contine to not only understand, but share and act on his vision," Brooks shared. "The thing that really today, it's sad, he was 39-years old. With all that he has accomplished, you would have thought that he was on this Earth for 70 something years. It's unfortunate that it happened, who knows what he would have accomplished with more time. It just blows me away that he was so young. With our players, it's just important, it's important for all of us, not just our players, but all, everyone in this country understands. It's about doing toe right thing everytime, not if it just benefits you."
Milwaukee did not have time to thoroughly discuss the meaning of Dr. King with the back-to-back they are on, but shared that there is never not a time to talk about what he did for the country.
"It's a great honor," Kidd said about playing in Washington on MLK day. "Not just about basketball, but about Martin Luther King himself and what he stood for."