The Luka Doncic Foundation, which was established by the Los Angeles Lakers star in 2024 to empower and inspire young athletes worldwide, is celebrating World Basketball Day and a year of important progress with the launch of several new initiatives aimed at reshaping the youth sports landscape.

According to the press release, the Foundation has been guided by the mission that sports should be something kids love and want to keep coming back to and is working to protect that belief in a few different ways: developing new approaches to coaching in youth basketball; taking a hard look at how the youth basketball system actually works and where it breaks down; and, building a global athlete support program to help kids across all sports keep playing when barriers get in the way.

“Each of these partnerships was carefully developed to move the Luka Doncic Foundation forward in pursuit of its mission to ensure youth sports are a joyful, enriching force in the lives of kids around the world,” noted Foundation CEO Lara Beth Seager. “These initiatives are helping us lay the groundwork for a future where every child has the opportunity to thrive through sports – regardless of their background or circumstance.”

“I’m so proud of all of the work we’ve accomplished in the year since we’ve launched, and I can’t wait to see what else we can do together,” said Doncic. “If we can continue providing opportunities to young athletes, and making sports more accessible and fun, I’ll know we did something right.”

Included in these new initiatives is the development of the Total Hoops Curriculum, which is working to develop a pilot curriculum and implementation toolkit that develops and supports a system of coaching that allows kids to play freely, embrace mistakes, and rediscover their love of the game.

To showcase and test this new curriculum, the Foundation will partner with the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA to host a pilot clinic during NBA All-Star 2026. Newly trained Total Hoops Approach coaches will work with 100 youth athletes ages 9-15 from across Los Angeles to test new techniques aimed at reminding kids what sports can give them – friendship, confidence, and joy – and helping coaches make the court a place they want to return to.

Additionally, this coming spring, the Foundation will open applications to athletes ages 12-15 from all sports in U.S.A., U.K., China (PRC), France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia providing grants to help overcome barriers to participation.

Per the Luka Doncic Foundation, World Basketball Day is about more than just basketball. It’s a day to celebrate everything the sport brings to its young athletes – joy, connection, and a sense of belonging. Protecting that mission is at the core of the foundation, and each of these initiatives and partnerships are meant to further that ideal.

Luka Doncic buys E-bikes for teammates and Lakers staff

Luka Doncic has constantly displayed his generosity through the work of his foundation, but he also recently extended that to his teammates and Lakers staff members by buying them all E-bikes to celebrate the holiday season.

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