Martin Luther King Jr. Day – UNFORGETTABLE

Sonny Hill was handing out posters in the Sixers’ locker room before Friday night’s game. Each poster was the same, a picture of one of the most influential people in history.

Three words: Martin Luther King.

“He was a man who changed history and these kids today need to know,” Hill said. “This man changed so much with his passion and especially his courage.”

The Sixers host the Charlotte Bobcats today at the Wells Fargo Center. But this game isn’t just an average day on the NBA’s 82-game schedule.

“To play on this day is really an honor because a person like him set us up for the rest of our lives,” said rookie Evan Turner. “He was a great, great man, who stood up for what he believed and had the courage to do it. He earned rights in this country for people of all races.”

Some players don’t like playing on holidays. But this particular one holds so much more meaning.

“I’m truly humbled and honored to be playing on MLK Day,” said Bucks guard John Salmons, a Plymouth-Whitemarsh graduate. “This is a man who was willing to give up his life for all people. How can you not want to honor him by playing?”

Jrue Holiday, one of the youngest players in the league at 20 years old, was proud to own a poster of such an important activist.

“If a young kid asked me about MLK, I’ll tell them to look up information on him,” Holiday said. “This is a man you never want to forget.”

Paying tribute to the Doctor

There will be a number of special tributes to Martin Luther King today at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers recorded a version of MLK’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech, which will air on the scoreboard. All children will have the opportunity to fill in the words to Dr. King’s speech with crayons on the concourse before the game starts.

“Kids need to understand how important he was and always will be,” said Sixers center Spencer Hawes. “He was a man who literally changed the country with what he had the courage to do and say.”