Former NBA Point Guard C.J. Watson on Family, Legacy & the Quiet Storm Foundation

<p>Former NBA point guard C.J. Watson joins The Giving Game to talk about the Quiet Storm Foundation, the family-run nonprofit he co-founded in 2009 with his parents and brother to support underprivileged youth in his hometown of Las Vegas.</p><p>C.J. walks through the foundation's three core programs: a free summer basketball camp with a parent workshop component, a Black History essay contest each February that sends winning students and their families to Washington, D.C. for a Black History Museum tour and an HBCU tour (a tradition that used to mean flying kids to C.J.'s NBA road games instead), and a twice-monthly out-of-school program built around field trips and health and wellness activities. He shares the deeply personal reason the essay contest matters to him — his grandmother helped desegregate an all-white school in Nashville, and his father's family was threatened over it — and reflects candidly on what still needs to change in how society talks about race, the value of "having the tough conversations," and what allyship looks like in practice.</p><p>The conversation also covers C.J.'s path from a childhood in Las Vegas's inner city to a 10-year NBA career, his post-retirement pivot into being a children's book author (C.J.'s Big Dream, C.J.'s Big Project, C.J.'s Big Moment, and C.J. and His Magic Socks), and life as a father of three daughters, including his oldest, a Division I volleyball recruit at the University of Pittsburgh. He and Sophie wrap with a broader conversation about the state of youth sports — travel team costs, pay-to-play culture, and why the life lessons sports teach matter more than the scoreboard.</p><p><b><strong>If C.J.'s story moved you, you can support the Quiet Storm Foundation using the link below.</strong></b></p>What We Cover<ul><li><b><strong>(01:46)</strong></b> What is the Quiet Storm Foundation, and how C.J.'s whole family got involved</li><li><b><strong>(03:13)</strong></b> Why empowering youth became C.J.'s mission</li><li><b><strong>(04:08)</strong></b> Growing up in the inner city of Las Vegas</li><li><b><strong>(05:04)</strong></b> Education first: how C.J.'s parents kept sports in perspective</li><li><b><strong>(05:50)</strong></b> From basketball to becoming a children's book author</li><li><b><strong>(07:13)</strong></b> The hardest part of transitioning out of a long pro career</li><li><b><strong>(08:22)</strong></b> The historical significance of Las Vegas's West Side</li><li><b><strong>(09:20)</stron