Sony Partners With NBA To Be First Sponsor Of League's "Hoops For Troops" Initative

Sony Computer Entertainment America has signed on as an NBA promotional partner for a year and will be the first sponsor of the league's six-year-old "Hoops for Troops" military appreciation program. Sony and the NBA will stage eight Hoops for Troops events at USO military bases around the country, which will include basketball hoop installations, donated video game system installations and appearances by former NBA players. The first of these events will be Thursday at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, where Basketball HOFer Nate Archibald will make an appearance. As part of Hoops for Troops, NBA players will be wearing special licensed apparel on court to commemorate Veterans Day on Nov. 11, including shooting shirts, headbands, wristbands and socks. NBA team-specific Hoops for Troops shooting shirts will be sold at the NBA Store in N.Y. and by NBAStore.com for $35.95, with a portion of sales donated to the USO.