Grizzlies to Honor Swin Cash, Penny Hardaway, Sam Perkins and James Worthy as Part of 16th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Game

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies, National Civil Rights Museum, City of Memphis and Shelby County will host the 16th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Game vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, presented by Ford and your Mid-South Ford Dealers, in a side-by-side telecast regionally 4:30 p.m. Jan. 15 on Fox Sports Southeast and nationally on TNT.

The celebration game will help tip-off events commemorating MLK50, the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination and include the Sports Legacy Award presentation, annual symposium, museum conversation and other activities designed to engage Memphis-area youth in an effort to remember, celebrate and act on Dr. King’s legacy. Associate celebration and game sponsors include The Hyde Family Foundations, Ashley HomeStore, FedEx and Coors Light.

This year’s honorees of the 13th Annual National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award, presented by Ford and your Mid-South Ford Dealers, feature a star-studded lineup of NBA and WNBA greats: Swin Cash, Penny Hardaway, Sam Perkins and James Worthy. All will be honored, including the Earl Lloyd Sports Legacy Symposium, presented by the Hyde Family Foundations 3 p.m. Jan. 15. for their dedicated contributions to civil and human rights and for laying the foundation for future leaders through their career in sports in the spirit of Dr. King.

Tip-off for the Grizzlies vs. Lakers matchup is at 4:30 p.m. with the National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award Ceremony also broadcasting live on Fox Sports Southeast and TNT. The ceremony will present the honorees with the Sports Legacy Award. Later in the game, this year’s MLK Day halftime ceremony, presented by Ford and your Mid-South Ford Dealers, will feature a Martin Luther King Jr. tribute video and special halftime performance. The national anthem and halftime performer will be announced at a later date this week.

Set to debut at the game is the 2018 ‘MLK50’ City Edition uniform that will support the National Civil Rights Museum’s anniversary programming. In collaboration with Nike and inspired by the storied history that shaped a movement and the City of Memphis, the story behind the uniform’s design dates back to Feb. 1, 1968 when two Memphis Sanitation workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were crushed to death by a malfunctioning garbage truck. The uniform’s story, stark use of color, iconic type and design is intended to shine a national light on the events that led up to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and of the ongoing movement forward for social justice that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. defined in life and in death.

The Grizzlies’ Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration events start 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13 with a Martin Luther King Jr. NBA Tournament at the Grizzlies Center at Memphis Athletic Ministries. Together, the Grizzlies and the Jr. NBA, the League’s official youth basketball program, will conduct a 3-on-3 MLK Jr. NBA Tournament. The tournament is open to boys and girls ages 14 and under. The Jr. NBA teaches the fundamentals and the values of the game at the grassroots level to help improve the youth basketball experience for all. Also featured at the event will be a one-hour panel conversation with special guests, including Cash and former NBA players Jason Collins and Mike Miller. Registration is currently open through January 12. The entry fee is $20 per team and pre-registration is required. Visit www.grizzlies.com/youthbasketball to register.

The visiting Lakers, a number of Grizzlies players along with Cash, Hardaway, Perkins, Worthy and other special guests will tour Jan. 14 at the National Civil Rights Museum. Following the tour, special guests will attend a community conversation, “MLK50: Where Do We Go from Here?” hosted 5:30 p.m. at the National Civil Rights Museum and streamed live on Grizzlies.com. Discussion guests will include Sports Legacy honoree Cash, Grizzlies guard Mike Conley, PolicyLink CEO Angela Glover Blackwell and Lakers center Brook Lopez, and will be hosted by National Civil Rights Museum President Terri Freeman. The conversation will focus on issues at the intersection of race and sports.

Media availability for the National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy award honorees and discussion panelists will be at the conclusion of the conversation around 7 p.m. 

Celebration events will continue noon to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 15 with a free Martin Luther King Jr. Day Nike Youth Basketball Clinic, presented by Ashley HomeStore on the FedExForum main court. The clinic will serve and welcome more than 75 Memphis-area youth, including groups from Grizzlies Prep, Porter Boys & Girls Club and Lester Community Center, and will help teach the values of the game and skills needed to improve their basketball experience. Each participant will also attend the Sports Legacy Symposium and receive complimentary tickets to the game that afternoon.

In addition, before the symposium and celebration game, a Martin Luther King Jr. NBA Coaches’ Forum & Reception will be held 1:30-3 p.m. Jan. 15 in the Draft Room at FedExForum. Participants will include Bernie Bickerstaff, former NBA head coach and father of Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, WNBA star and Sports Legacy honoree Cash and former NBA player Collins. The forum is designed to engage coaches as positive influencers and to equip them with tools to develop young athletes of character. Local coaches and sports administrators can visit www.grizzlies.com/youthbasketball to register.

For more information and tickets, visit www.grizzlies.com or call 1-800-4NBA-TIX or 901-888-HOOP.

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