Bismack Biyombo brings his success back home

Bismack Biyombo can say he finally made it in the NBA after signing his multi-year contract with the Orlando Magic. He brought that joy to his home country.

Bismack Biyombo can be boisterous and gregarious. There always seems a smile on his face. He truly enjoys every moment he is in the NBA.

There is a serious side to him too. Biyombo is often the one after some of the hard losses the Orlando Magic have taken already this season preaching how the team has to stick together and remain focused, eschewing the chemistry excuse everyone seems willing to make so easily.

Biyombo has been a big boost to the Magic for sure. His defensive ability has been exactly as advertised and he has made a difference for the team on the inside.

Biyombo, as much as anyone else on the Magic’s roster or in the league, knows the kind of hard work and seriousness basketball requires to make it, but also the joy of just being in the NBA.

As Biyombo reaped the rewards of his strong play with a new long-term contract with the Magic, he returned to his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to give back to his nation. A nation who still sees its youth torn apart by war and poverty. Biyombo had to overcome a lot to get to the NBA and the Magic.

He hosted several basketball clinics for kids in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And he continues to invest in their futures by funding scholarships for selected students to attend middle and high schools in his country and in the United States. Biyombo set up a foundation to serve the community he came from.

Biyombo detailed the work he did this summer to Jared Zwerling of the NBPA:

"There is a lack of opportunities. There’s a lot of kids in the streets, not going to school or who quit school because they can’t afford it, or because they have to think about eating first and providing what they can for the rest of the family. Lack of education is a big issue.Every time I go home, I get to spend time with all these kids and help them start a new life. It’s not going to be in the street anymore. Now they have a place to stay put. Those things really fill my energy each and every day, and help me be a better person and push more forward.. . .I am very proud of these kids. Every year more and more want to participate in the clinics. They like the experience and they talk to their friends because they see that basketball can have a positive impact to their lives. Most of them are surrounded by negative things on a daily basis, sometimes with no hope or dreams. So I love to see them smile, and see their confidence and self-esteem go up after a day or two."

You can read the full details of what Biyombo has done for his community including a special trip to the top of Nyiragongo volcano in Zwerling’s article.

Biyombo had to overcome a lot to get to the NBA and the Magic. His circumstances in his upbringing are certainly part of it. So too were the struggles of being a raw prospect in the NBA.

Biyombo said in his first-person account that he lacked joy when he was playing with the Charlotte Hornets. He rediscovered it in anchoring the second unit for the Toronto Raptors last year, helping them make their first Eastern Conference Finals.

Biyombo’s story is certainly a reminder of what it takes to truly break through and achieve your dreams. It is about the importance of using that to lift others up.

Next: Aaron Gordon pleasant early season surprise

As he goes through this season, there will be more moments of stern examination for the team to get the job done. And there will be more moments of pure joy.