© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Escaping A Cycle Of Crime, One Hoop At A Time

Tonight, the NBA opens its 2015-2016 season with Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls hosting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tomorrow, small forward Caron Butler will begin his 14th season in the league, as the Sacramento Kings take on the Los Angeles Clippers.

As a child, Butler didn’t dream of becoming a professional basketball player. In fact, he didn’t have many hopes for his future at all. It’s a story he lays out in his new book, “ Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA.”

Butler told our colleagues at Only A Game about his story of escaping crime and poverty and how he’s trying to use his status to make a difference.

Guest

  • Caron Butler, NBA player with the Sacramento Kings and author of “Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA.” He tweets @realtuffjuice.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.