The Show Love Tour is a core initiative powering Hoopbus’ mission of building community though the game. Every NBA/WNBA All-Star Weekend, the bus pulls up to the host city and shows love in a real and lasting way. Through the tour, we renovate local courts, distribute resources like sneakers & basketballs, and engage youth through our PE Takeover programming. Using the universal love of basketball, we teach life skills such as gratitude, self-love, discipline, and teamwork while creating meaningful experiences for the community.

Check out stories from people with the bus —> Nick, Jalen and Jah

From Nick mcinnes

“This was my first taste of those kinds of moments and I would love for it not to be my last.”

— Nick Mcinnes

A recent college graduate, Nick showed up to help paint the Rogers Park court after experiencing the bus at an event. He wanted to volunteer, and afterward he reflected that it felt like he’d unlocked a whole new world.

On the first day, he woke up early for a 6 a.m. start—sanding the court and prepping it for paint. It was an intimate crew, just three people. He painted all day alongside Jeremy, a Hoopbus director based in New York, and the two spent hours swapping stories. Nick learned about Jeremy’s work, his jewelry hustle, his two kids, and how he’d just become a girl dad. He found about about the family ties in HB when he realized Jeremy and Toby, the Executive Director, are cousins.

It’s those small moments that create the big ones.

Later in the week, with the court polished and ready for the community, Nick was able to see the fruits of his labor. Watching the skills clinic - with its emphasis on player development - reminded him of the bigger goal: creating a space where people can grow and become better versions of themselves.

Seeing it come to life was a privilege. “Its incredible what one court renovation can do for the community,” he said.

“It’s incredible what one court renovation can do for the community”

— Nick Mcinnes

From Jalen Chandler

“Having the mayor come out is pretty big in any city you’re in because it shows whatever you’re doing has enough impact to have him come out of his seat.”

— Jalen Chandler

Show LA Love was Jalen’s third production with the bus. Jalen lives in the Bay Area, where he works as both a coach and a PE teacher.

Since birth basketball has been at his core. His mom said that when she had him the doctor put a ball in his hand right out of the womb. His dad was a coach and his brother played pro overseas - Jalen followed suit. He said, playing college basketball put him on track and brought him to San Francisco and then Hawaii.

Jalen said the Rogers Park inauguration came to mind when we called. He said, the connection basketball creates between people was easy to observe, its clearly very important to the community in Inglewood and LA. The mayor of Inglewood, James Butts, is in touch with that pulse and he attended the Rogers Park court inauguration. “Having the mayor come out is pretty big in any city you're in because it shows whatever you're doing has enough impact to have him come out of his seat.”

The highlight was the dunk contest, rivaling even the highly produced NBA dunk contest. When the top dunkers from around the world gather at one spot, it shows something important is happening for the LA game.

More than anything, it was the people who made the day memorable. Rogers Park brought together every kind of person, reminding Jalen how important it is to treat everyone with respect. You never know who you might meet.

See the Dunks!

The day ended in a storybook way. The dunk-contest featured two cars as prizes for the winner. But instead of the champion, Dunk Chen, driving away with the prize, the cars were gifted to two single mothers, one of whom has never owned a car before.

Moments like that reflect something deeper about the event. They show that people are inherently good, and Hoopbus has a way of reminding all of us what is possible when kindness, generosity, and community come together.

From Jahlil Keola-Eldridge:

“No matter where you come from, you can relate to any person. Someway, somehow.”

— Jahlil Keola-Eldridge

Jahlil (Jah) is a 22 year old from Baltimore, MD. He has been at Project Backboard, a non-profit whose mission is to renovate public basketball courts to strengthen communities, since he was 18.

Basketball has always been Jah’s outlet. His journey with Project Backboard started by chance while he was hooping at his local court in Baltimore and came across a group painting the surface. What began as a random moment quickly turned into something much bigger - a passion project that inspired him to withdraw from going to college and commit to the work full-time. He quickly learned - as you do at places like Hoopbus and Project Backboard - that its more then work, its a family driven by purpose.

He said he is considered a nephew by his team members, finding his own community while helping build up others. When Hoopbus brought him to California to paint his first court on the West Coast, he reconnected with his blood family too, meeting his cousin, Latrice, for the first time. Show LA Love reminded him of the power of basketball to connect people and create opportunities to get involved, proving that no matter where you come from, you can relate to anyone, someway, somehow.