Bucks bring smiles to kids at hospital
On the heels of their close, thrilling win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Milwaukee Bucks got together at their downtown practice facility on Wednesday morning for a practice session aimed at maintenance and recovery. They watched film and did individual workouts, which included some on-court work and alternative activities such as yoga.
That practice time was more limited than usual. It was important and necessary to get some work done ahead of Friday’s 7 p.m. game against the Charlotte Hornets at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
But if you ask the team, it wasn’t the most important work they did on Wednesday.
That’s because the team assembled at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and the MACC Fund Center on Wednesday afternoon with loads of stuffed dolls, fidget spinners, hats, posters and other goodies for their annual holiday visit.
“You handle your stuff on the court, but then when you’re off the court, when you’re back in the community, for me that’s what it’s really about,” Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon said.
“It’s a blessing to be able to play at this level, but I think the bigger blessing is what we mean for so many people, the impact we can make on so many lives. It’s important that we use that.”
After a brief orientation, the players spread out around the hospital in groups, aiming to bring some holiday cheer to the children and their families, doctors and staff of the hospital. One group, including Brogdon, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tony Snell and DeAndre Liggins kept things light and fun while going room to room.
One of the gifts the players were handing out was a doll of Antetokounmpo, who playfully joked to the kids that the doll was of Brogdon. As the group gathered around a nine-year-old girl named Bella for a photo op with photographers and TV cameras around, Antetokounmpo remarked, “This is how it feels to be a celebrity.”
A few rooms after Bella’s, Antetokounmpo found a stuffed dog with a Bucks handkerchief around its neck. He was insistent that he return and bring it to Bella - that this particular toy would be perfect for her - and made sure to make it happen.
The following rooms had a similar but unique feel all their own. A boy named Tatum had a basketball with him when the players arrived, and he excitedly passed it back and forth with Brogdon as the Bucks players smiled and admired his skills.
Antetokounmpo remarked, “Oh, he can play?! He can hoop!” Brogdon responded, “This is the man right here, this is the shooter.”
Later in the day, after visiting a boy named Jaxson, a hospital staff member approached Snell and asked how Jaxson was and if he had smiled. Snell informed them that Jaxson had given a little smirk, prompting the staff member to respond with delight and start spreading the good news.
“It puts everything in perspective,” Brogdon said. “It allows us to see that other people go through things, even young kids that don’t ask for it. They’re going through adversity, they’re going through tough times, and to see families that are going through it with their kids.
“So, it puts everything in perspective and makes you understand that basketball is a game and you’ve got to enjoy your life and enjoy your family and appreciate your blessings and health.”
In another group elsewhere in the hospital, one boy took things further than just a smile, saying, “This is the best Christmas ever, having the Bucks visit.”
Those reactions — from the little smirks to the excited proclamations — are what the annual visit is all about.
“One of the issues is if a kid is here that means they’re sick, but they’re also a kid,” said David Margolis, a pediatric oncologist and hematologist. “Kids love sports, kids love the Bucks and to have a Milwaukee Bucks player come into their room, hang out, talk, interact — and these guys are so good ... they are bringing light to these kids.
“No matter why they’re here — cancer, heart, infection, whatever it is — they’re here because they’re sick. But when the Bucks come in they’re not sick, they’re kids. That’s what we try to do here, so much, is to allow kids to be kids.”
Wednesday’s visit was the cornerstone of the Bucks’ holiday outreach efforts, though it wasn’t the only one.
On Monday, Brogdon, Snell, Jabari Parker and Thon Maker took students from St. Marcus Lutheran School and Milwaukee Public Schools’ Carver Academy of Math and Science on a shopping spree as part of the team’s “Shop with the Bucks” event.
On Wednesday night, Khris Middleton surprised seven children and their mentors from Big Brothers Big Sisters with a shopping spree at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
“I think this is what it’s all about, being able to give back, being able to be a light for someone else and use what you have, the blessings you have, to bless other people,” Brogdon said. “I think it’s one of the best things that this organization can do, that we do every year to touch these lives.”