Dream Court dedicated during ceremony at Boys and Girls Club in Laurel

A dream came true last Wednesday when the Dream Court ribbon-cutting and dedication was held at the Boys and Girls Club in Laurel. The outdoor basketball court became a reality through a partnership between Nancy Lieberman Charities, Sports Court, and the Boys and Girls Club.

“At the Boys and Girls Club, we know how sports are a unifying force. Today, the court stands as a symbol of our values and Lieberman Charities’ (values),” said Boys and Girls Club of Delaware Chief Administrative Officer Robin Roberts.

The Laurel club had a new playground last year. In addition to the outdoor court, the club will be renovating its indoor court’s floors and backboards, according to John Wellons, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Delaware.

The Laurel Dream Court is the 142nd Dream Court in the country, presented by Nancy Lieberman Charities. Lieberman, a two-time hall of fame basketball player and coach and two-time Olympian, has attended all but one of the dedications, including last week’s event in Laurel.

“We know your passion for basketball. It (Dream Court) speaks to your passion for kids,” Wellons told Lieberman.

“Everyone who has ever been great has not done it by themselves. It takes a lot of people who want to say yes, to say yes,” said Lieberman. “I came here today and I should not be thanked. I owe it to you to be here.”

Lieberman said she led a tough childhood growing up in Far Rockaway, Queens in New York. “Any time I was down I would go to my friendly police officers,” she added.

Lieberman went on to play basketball at Old Dominion University on scholarship. While still in her teens, she was named to the USA women’s basketball team, which won a gold medal in the Pan America games. She played at Old Dominion from 1976 to 1980, winning a pair of AIAW National Championships and a Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) Championship with the team.

“Every young person here today, I’m here for you,” said Lieberman, who is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. “You want to be dream givers, not hope stealers.”

Lieberman played for the Los Angeles Lakers Summer Pro League team in 1981. She competed with the Dallas Diamonds in the Women’s American Basketball Association (WABA), averaging 27 points per game to earn the MVP award. She also helped lead the Diamonds to the championship that year. Unlike the WNBA today, Lieberman said women were not playing on TV at that time.

Lieberman played in the USNL men’s league (similar to today’s G-League) and later toured with the Washington Generals and played with the Harlem Globetrotters.

When she was 21 Lieberman met her idol, Muhammed Ali, and learned from him. “I learned to respect everybody and fear nobody,” she said.

“He knew I was broken and he was the first one to look me in the eye. The most famous Muslim in the world was teaching me about God,” said Lieberman. “I didn’t love me. I didn’t know I didn’t love me. He recognized this. If you don’t love you why should others love you?”

Lieberman played for the Phoenix Mercury during the WNBA’s inaugural year in 1997, at the age of 39. She went on to serve as general manager and head coach of the Detroit Shock in the league, coached in the NBA Development League, and was a TV analyst for ESPN and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In 2015, she became one of the first female assistant coaches in the NBA when she was hired by the Sacramento Kings. She later became a broadcaster for the NBA’s New Orleans Kings and was hired as head coach of the Dallas Power in the Big3 League, a role she still serves. She became the first woman to coach a men’s team to a championship when the Power won in 2018.

“Be loving, be kind. I’m a tough chick from New York. The most important thing is how you are with others,” Lieberman told the kids in attendance. She also said that she was told many times that she couldn’t do something, but did it anyway.

“How are you going to know how good you can be if you don’t try?,” said Lieberman. “I’m living life’s dream because I never should have been here.”

Earlier in the ceremony, Representative Tim Dukes, Senator Bryant Richardson, and Laurel Mayor Carlos Oliveras spoke.

“Sometimes our greatest legacy is not what we do but how we give back,” Dukes said of the court donation. Richardson spoke of the importance of sportsmanship.

The Laurel club, in a former armory gifted to the Boys and Girls Club by the town, has been serving area kids for over 26 years, including over 80 boys and girls currently.

“It’s not just a basketball court, the basketball court is the end product,” said Oliveras. “It’s about putting you in a position to be a better person, for a better town, a better nation.”