Net’s forward, Cam Johnson, 27, visited Bed-Stuy for a food giveaway on Nov. 18.
Photo by Ximena Del Cerro
Bed-Stuy got a sweet treat last weekend as Nets forward Cameron Johnson swung through for a Thanksgiving giveaway. The basketball player visited Marcy Houses, the childhood home of music producer and hip-hop legend Jay-Z, to help local nonprofit Wellfare distribute food boxes ahead of Thanksgiving, on Nov. 18.
One by one, hundreds of neighbors arrived at the Marcy House playground looking for some pantry supplies. The former Phoenix Sun turned full-time Brooklynite helped seniors grab their boxes and caused a few smiles.
With Johnson’s help, Wellfare handed out 315 boxes on Saturday, which accounted for $80,000 in donations. Attendees also had access to blood pressure screenings, nutrition education and assistance with insurance enrollment, courtesy of Hospital for Special Surgery. They also gifted yoga mats, pedometers, resistance bands and online fitness classes.
“It means a lot,” said Johnson. “I like to say it’s putting faces to the people, the stories you hear, putting faces and names to the environment that I live in, the environment that I play in.”
A heated basketball match was going down on the playground’s court surrounded by attentive children. When Johnson got there, the game stopped for players to snap some selfies with the athlete.
A calf injury forced Johnson, who signed with the Nets in February, to miss the preseason, but he was able to play in the 2023-2024 season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 25. Johnson said he is back to 100% and demonstrated it by scoring 16 points against the Miami Heat just a few days before the holiday giveaway.
So far, the Nets have won 6 games and lost 7 games. Johnson said him and the team have developed great chemistry on and off the court.
“These last couple weeks we’ve made big strides,” he said. “There’s been some moments when we showed a…
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