CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NBA All-Star Weekend is officially underway!

While there are a number of sporting events and parties, a big part of it will be the NBA's efforts to give back to the local community. That's why a dozen Special Olympics athletes were joined by NBA and WNBA legends on the court.

Michael Wright is only in his first year of playing basketball with the Special Olympics, yet he's already hit the All-Star hardwood. He’s playing in one of the first events of All-Star weekend, the NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game.

 “It's amazing. I would never have expected this to even happen,” Wright said.

Especially since he says he came to the sport on a whim suggestion by a friend. Chris Bence with Special Olympics International describes a life that's been changed.

 “Someone that was misunderstood as a younger adult, as a kid, and now, in a program such as Special Olympics and Unified Sports, he's really blossoming,” Bence said. “It's all about their abilities, not their disabilities.”

 

 

Showing the perceptions of what people with disabilities can and cannot do are often misguided.

“We're trying to show the world what unified sports is. It's people with and without disabilities playing on the same floor,” he said.

Charlotte Hornets legend Muggsy Buggs believes in that mission so deeply. This is the fifth time he's played in the All-Star Unified Game.

“Having fun with them, seeing the passion that they have still for the game, bring the smile,” he said. “I can't ask for nothing better than this.”

For him, there's no other way he's rather kick off the weekend in Charlotte.

“It's been a whirlwind opportunity for the NBA to really come here to give back, show their brand, what their product is all about,” he said.

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