TLDR: Basketball is a globally-traded cultural currency ——— I recently returned from Lebanon, a county I haven’t visited since the pandemic started. My trips are usually filled with home-cooked meals, nostalgia, and reconnecting with family. However, this time, I also gave back in a very personal & meaningful way - THROUGH BASKETBALL. The pictures above might look like I just walked into any gym, but there’s a deeper story to how this happened. In February, Antoine (slide 3) found my Instagram page after some @ote athletes reshared my videos of OTE Arena in Atlanta. The Lebanese flag is in my name, and we connected because of that. In the following months, I kept seeing him post clips of himself training with a dedicated coach & eager group of peers. This shocked me because I didn't find a community of young basketball fans in Lebanon when I was in grade school. At OTE Arena, I witnessed how happy kids were when they felt like they belonged in basketball culture. It reminded me tha...