Wishing Well

BUCKS GUARD Malcolm Brogdon has earned the nicknames Humble Moses and the President for a reason. In addition to his notable skills on the hardwood, he has a solid track record of community service and leadership. As part of his thesis project at Virginia, he partnered with a company called PureMadi, a nonprofit that collaborates with South Africans to design, test and produce affordable ceramic filters that use silver nanoparticles to purify water.

Brogdon has been interested in service projects in Africa since he spent three weeks in Ghana with his family during elementary school. The trip "lit a fire" in him, he says. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in public policy from UVa and, after his Rookie of the Year season in 2016--17, he reached out to fellow Virginia alum Chris Long, a defensive end for the Eagles, to inquire about Long's Waterboys charity.

Waterboys raises money to build wells in Tanzania to provide clean, easily accessible water to communities in need. A single well can serve up to 7,500 people. Brogdon saw an opportunity to expand Long's initiative to the NBA, so he launched Hoops2O and recruited four other NBA players—Justin Anderson and Joe Harris (who also went to UVa), and Garrett Temple and Anthony Tolliver. The group's goal is to raise $225,000 for the project through their own donations and contributions from fans.