Shaun Livingston has had a career revival as a member of the Golden State Warriors. The once-touted high school prospect tore his ACL, PCL, and sprained his MCL in February of 2007. It took him until 2013-14 to show up on the radar of casual NBA fans, then with the Brooklyn Nets, before he signed a 3-year, $16 million deal in Oakland.
Now, Livingston is giving back.
According to the Mercury News, Livingston is donating a shocking $1 million to his hometown elementary school in Peoria, Illinois.
“As soon as I got in the NBA, I was thinking about it,” Livingston said. “Wanting to use my influence and resources to help different communities.”
Particularly this one, a place he feels so connected. “It made the most difference in who I am, my foundation, building blocks,” he said.
Livingston’s $1 million provided a massive chunk of the $3.2 million donation being used to fund a 16,000-square-foot expansion of the school. It will include a renovated gym, a performance stage for band and theater, new offices and locker rooms plus a storm shelter capable of withstanding 200 mph winds.
Livingston’s donation is noteworthy for a few reasons. First, the sheer size. A million dollars goes a long way in a small- to medium-sized town like Peoria. Second, the infrastructure Livingston is helping to build will last multiple generations, and the addition of a storm shelter is uniquely Midwestern.
Finally, $1 million is a lot of money for a player like Shaun Livingston. Basketball Reference estimates Livingston’s career earnings at around $36 million. That means he’s donating 20% of his annual salary this year, and 2.7% of the money he’s earned from basketball in total.
Pretty cool that he could work it out within his finances to make such a contribution.
