Phoenix Suns star Bismack Biyombo on Friday announced he intends to use his salary from this NBA season to build a hospital in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to honor his late father.
According to CNN, Biyombo, 29, hadn’t played in the NBA since the end of the 2020-21 season. The Congolese native, who became a free agent after leaving the Charlotte Hornets, is said to have taken that break to care for his father and later grieve his passing. He eventually signed a seasonal contract with the Phoenix Suns in January. And per the Spotrac, the 29-year-old is expected to earn $1.3 million at the end of the season.
“I think once my Dad passed, the love of the game kind of fell a little bit because he was my everything — my friend, my business partner, my mentor and everything,” Biyombo said in a video that was shared on the Bismack Biyombo Foundation’s YouTube Page.
“I wanted to make this year about my Dad because my Dad spent most of his life making his life about me, my brothers, my sisters and servicing people.”
Last month, Biyombo told Andscape that his father Francis contracted Covid in July last year. And though he recovered, the basketball star said his father suffered other health complications as a result of contracting the infectious disease. Francis, 61, passed away in Turkey on August 2021. Prior to his death, Biyombo spent 45 days with him in their native country as well as Turkey.
Biyombo explained the hospital will honor his father’s legacy as well as provide needed healthcare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“I told my agent my salary for this year would be going to the construction of a hospital back home to give hope to the hopeless at home and those individuals that cannot take their family members out,” Biyombo said.
“I want to be able to give them better conditions so that they can somewhat have hope that their loved ones will be able to live and see another day. I wanted to give them something that would continue to service people under his name.”
During the start of the pandemic in 2020, Biyombo told Time Magazine that his foundation donated almost $1 million in medical equipment to locations in the DRC. And though the basketball star has also renovated hospitals in the central African country and also supported medical staff, he emphasized that he wants to do more to help, CNN reported.
“We’re just trying to make sure we can save as many lives as we can,” he said.
“I’ve seen how people try to survive daily in the Congo. I thought we were doing enough by refurbishing hospitals and clinics but I think it’s time we go a little bigger by building something that will service people, hopefully for generations.”
Anthony Madu, the 14-year-old Nigerian dancer from Lagos who gained admission to a prestigious ballet…
Actor-host Wayne Brady recently opened up about his early financial struggles in his now thriving…
Mia Arianna, also known as @mia.ariannaa on TikTok, helped her son become an honorary team…
Alvin Gauthier, a Grand Prairie USPS postman, recently went above and beyond to brighten a…
Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed is the first female commander of the air force and…
Benjamin E. Mays High School brought together its 272 senior class members for a meeting…
Afrika Owes' emotional response to learning that she had passed the bar exam on her…
A 49-year-old New York attorney was on April 26 sentenced to 10 years in federal…
During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, pop legend Cher opened up…
Authorities in Florida said an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old…
The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…
Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…
Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…
Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…
A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…