NBA player to host camp in Long Beach

Long Beach students will be able to play basketball alongside the pros next month for an entire week.

Team Green Basketball Academy, a camp teaching kids grades K-12 the fundamentals of basketball, will be coming to Long Beach Middle School for a week, beginning July 18. The academy was founded and is run by three-time NBA champion and Philadelphia 76er Danny Green and his father, Danny Green Sr.

Each day of the camp consists of stations where participants can learn dribbling, defense, shooting and other concepts of the game. Kids will be able to learn these skills, and eventually compete against each other in games, from Green, his brothers and current and ex-players and coaches.

“We have been doing the camp since Danny got drafted in 2009,” Green Sr. said. “We always wanted to find a way to help the community. It’s a good way for Danny to get involved more personably.”

The camp has traveled to Texas, North Carolina and New York, including some other Long Island communities. The camp has traveled to Floral Park, North Babylon, where Green is from, and Manhasset, where Green went to school at St. Mary’s High School.

Team Green was hoping to come to Long Beach a few years ago, but the Covid pandemic put a hold on things. Regardless, kids in town will not get the chance to play alongside and learn from Green and his colleagues.

“It’s an opportunity to get back home, help the community and have some fun,” Green said. “I hope the kids get some knowledge and help and maybe get started a little faster. I hope they get advice not just about sports, but about life.”

The camp is $300 per camper and every camper gets a t-shirt, a chance at daily prizes and knowledge from an NBA champion.