With this season’s All-Star break and trade deadline both in the rearview mirror, NBA teams are now pushing to make the playoffs. Despite the fast pace of basketball and the pressures of pro sports, many NBA players take time to practice and proclaim their Christian faith.
The following individuals—nine players, a team chaplain, and a referee—are winners for sharing about eternal victory through Jesus Christ.
Christian NBA Players Who Glorify God
1. Ja’Kobe Walter
After one season of college hoops, Texas native Ja’Kobe Walter was selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. Despite a first name that honors basketball greats Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, the 20-year-old guard tries to stay humble and glorify God.
“My parents put me in the church at a young age and have always told me to put God first in anything I do,” Walter told His Huddle before heading to Baylor University. “Faith has always been important for me since the beginning.”
To keep a proper perspective, the athlete thanks God each day for his blessings. “God has given me opportunities that I would’ve never thought I would have,” Walter said.
Last spring, when he declared for the draft, Walter began a social media post by thanking “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because He makes all things possible. He has walked with me all my life to get me where I am now.”
As a rookie, Walter hasn’t wasted any time getting involved in the community. He recently became an ambassador for a youth sports facility in downtown Toronto.
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