Zach LaVine talks charity, team

Posted by elena brown on June 7th, 2016

After winning the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for April, Minnesota Timberwolves guard sat down with Sports Illustrated to discuss his charity and community service work, as well as the team's bright future. LaVine received the award for donating his ,000 dunk contest winnings to the Metro Deaf School in St. Paul, Minn., to build a new kitchen space.As a monthly winner, LaVine is nominated for the season-long community assist award. The NBA and Kaiser Permanente, which presents the award, will donate ,000 to the season-long winner's charity of choice. You can visit the NBA Community Assist website for more information.The other nominees are Carmelo Anthony, Mike Conley, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Damian Lillard, Victor Oladipo and John Wall. Fans can vote through May 18 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using (gain 2k16 MT) The Boris Diaw experience | NBA Mock Draft 3.0Jesse Kramer​: You've been involved with the Metro Deaf School for a little while now. When you decided to donate your dunk contest winnings, what made you choose them?Zach LaVine: I just have a connection with sign language. I always thought the deaf community was a different community to be a part of. In high school, me and my friend took sign language. I just felt like [donating to MDS] would be something different because it's a community not a lot of people give back to. I felt strong about wanting to donate [the dunk contest winnings] to a cause that would be good.JK: You appeared at the Metro Deaf School when they unveiled the new kitchen. How important was it for you to actually be present rather than simply provide the money?ZL: It was great. It was really, really early in the morning, and to see them all awake and excited—because I remember me in school at 7 a.m. I was knocked out. So just to see their faces and to show that I'm there, I care, show my face. I didn't want to be someone that just donates money and doesn't make an appearance or talk to them. I've made about three of four appearances there and I'll continue to do that throughout the next couple of years. I just thought it was really cool. JK: When you were in high school, what made you want to take sign language in the first place?ZL: To tell you the truth, a lot of people ask me that. I don't know. Me and my teammate did it. We wanted to take Spanish, and then we took sign language. At the time, it was actually kind of difficult. Now looking back on it, it's a unique skill set (easy way to see nba 2k16 mt for sale) that not a lot of people have. In high school we used to sign to each other during the game, signaling different plays and stuff like that. It was kind of fun. It was definitely unique.JK: There are a number of videos of you visiting the Metro Deaf School, and it's pretty clear these kids really appreciate having you around. Do you think you could have the same impact on them if you didn't know sign language?ZL: I feel like it's different than me not knowing sign language because I'm able to talk to them. It's a connection that I feel like would be different if I couldn't sign to them because they'd know I'd still be there and still care, but I would have somebody else talking to them for me. So I'd still be able to help, but being able to do the same things they can do, understand them, communicate back and forth with them, hold a conversation with them know more