Providing inspiration for the next generation is something that many athletes aspire to, but some are able to go above and beyond. One who did so is FC Barcelona guard Tomas Satoransky, who wanted to give something back to his hometown of Prague last summer.
With the COVID-19 pandemic having impacted many people in the Czech Republic, particularly those from a lower socioeconomic background, Satoransky decided to use his platform to do something that would positively impact many people – regardless of age – in Prague. As the 31-year-old explained to Euroleague Basketball, he helped refurbish a legendary streetball court in a bid to increase the number of people playing basketball, as he looks to use the sport a force for good.
"I was thinking about [refurbishing the court] for a long time. Actually, when I got to the NBA, because I saw so many other players doing that," said Satoransky. "It's kind of like giving back to the basketball community, to try and motivate kids to not just do basketball but sports in general. I think, during the COVID era, it was super important that something like that happened or was made reality. I was very thrilled that this happened during the summer; it was a lot of work and we did it in a pretty short time period, because we tried to do it before our EuroBasket that we hosted [in the Czech Republic]. I think it was super cool."