SALT LAKE CITY — As the NBA All-Star game returns to Salt Lake City for the first time in 30 years, the weekend festivities are also giving kids a chance to take the hardwood with some of the very best.
The sixth annual Jr. NBA Day took place at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Friday.
The three sessions during the morning and afternoon brought close to 2,000 students from six school districts in the greater Salt Lake area to learn the game of basketball from those who know it best.
"We've been doing this for decades, but I've got to say that this is our largest All-Star Junior NBA activation to date," said David Krichavsky, the head of youth basketball development for the NBA.
Krichavsky says this was the first event of this scale they have put on since the NBA All-Star game in Chicago, back in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've heard so much about the legacy of All-Star Weekend when it was here two decades ago and now to know that another generation of young people from Utah are going to be able to create those same kind of memories, the same kind of connection with our sport, the same kind of connection with the Jazz, we think that's something that's really quite special," said Krichavsky.
Former and current NBA players, along with players from the WNBA and NBA G-League, led the kids through on-court clinics.
Those clinics showed kids the fundamentals of the game, from passing and shooting to rebounding and defense.
Two of Utah's very own, Jazz guards Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, took to the hardwood to teach the kids what they know about the game.
"This city has been a great experience for me," Clarkson said. "It's just great we are able to do this here and, you know, bring all the kids out and see all of this."
FOX 13 News asked Sexton about the impact he hoped to have on the youth during the event.
"Just show them: 'If I did, you can do it as well,' but also, just show them that sky's the limit — whatever you dream about, whatever you want to do in life, go do it," said Sexton.
Makiyah Smuin, a fifth grader at Morningside Elementary School, took part in the event.
"So much fun. I'm learning so much skills," said Smuin. "You get to run and play with your friends and shoot and then everybody yells 'yay!'"
Kellen Rendle, a fourth grader at Morningside Elementary School, was excited to meet the pros.
"The best part is I get to meet leaders that do great things too," said Rendle.
NBA officials tell FOX 13 News that about 15,000 kids will participate in the league's junior programs over the course of NBA All-Star weekend.
