EDINBURG — Anthony Lamb, Daishen Nix and Trevelin Queen played pivotal roles for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers during their run to the 2021-22 NBA G League Championship, the team’s fourth title in its history.
Monday, it was all about giving back to the next generation of basketball players in the Valley.
Lamb, Nix, Queen and the RGV Vipers hosted Day 1 of a three-day basketball “Champ Camp” on Monday at the Vipers Practice Facility in Edinburg.
“The championship part comes with the grind, but giving back to the community and showing how much love and support they got for us, it’s amazing,” Queen said. “I never had this growing up as a kid, so for me, it’s a great idea to give back to them to show them what it takes to get to the NBA, what it feels like to be a champion and show them the love you can have for the game.”
Attendees range from ages 6-13 at the three-day “Champ Camp” while getting to learn from the Vipers’ three G League champions, as well as local basketball minds like Edcouch-Elsa head coach Lalo Rios, a former standout at Edinburg High and Texas-Pan American, who also coached Monday’s session.
Queen was named the 2022 NBA G League Most Valuable Player and Finals MVP, in addition earning a spot on the All-NBA G League first team and All-Defensive Team. Lamb was a NBA G-League third-team member, and Daishen Nix is under contract with the Houston Rockets.
“My favorite part is how many kids came out,” Nix said. “This is a lot of kids that want to get better every single day, and that’s what we’re going to help them do these three days — get better and work on things they normally wouldn’t by themselves.”
The pipeline from the RGV Vipers to the NBA has been steady throughout the years. Gary Payton II, who just won the 2022 NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors last week, was part of Vipers teams in 2016-17 and 2018-19.
Now, RGV Vipers players like Lamb, Nix and Queen hope they can help inspire the next generation of basketball players in the Valley while creating similar paths as Payton at the NBA level.
“It’s great knowing I’m sort of the outlet to basketball for these kids. It’s a big responsibility and I’m grateful to be able to do it, try to play the game the right way and show people how much fun you can have playing and winning and enjoying basketball, because it’s a game I love,” Lamb said. “It’s been a big part of my life, and if I could pass it on to the kids coming up I’ll be grateful for it.”
