Laker Anthony Davis partners with First Entertainment to teach community financial literacy
Lakers forward Anthony Davis has achieved a handful of goals during his collegiate and professional playing careers. However, there are other goals that he would like to still accomplish and not all are necessarily on the court. Let’s take a look:
An NBA All Star? Check.
NBA first team? Check.
Win Olympic gold medal? Check.
NCAA national champion? Check.
NBA champion and MVP? Pending.
An official ambassador for a brand that aligns with his goals and ambitions? Check.
Davis is partnering with First Entertainment Credit Union as part of an overall partnership between the Lakers and First Entertainment.
“This is something that is home for me, something that relates to me,” said Davis. “It helps me learn about financially literacy, how to spend my money, invest in — a lot of things people don’t know about.”
Anthony Davis sat down with a little over a minute left in the Lakers’ contest against the Philadelphia 76ers, but he didn’t stay on the bench for long. He’d done everything for the Lakers that night.
Davis is the first official ambassador in First Entertainment’s 53-year history.
“We wanted to become more than just a word of mouth, we wanted to expand the brand in SoCal,” said Amondo Redmond, chief marketing officer at First Entertainment. “Doing research, I knew I wanted AD. I got a sense how much L.A. loves him. He was the best that reflects the brand.”
The collaboration is a big step for Davis’ overall goals to immerse himself in the L.A. community and entertainment space. He will spread the word on financial literacy and the entrepreneurial benefits of working with First Entertainment.
“A lot of people can go broke and don’t know how to spend money. We make mistakes, we spend, but we are able to learn from those mistakes,” said Davis. “I want people to be smarter with their money. I want to share my experience with others. I want to leave them a lot of knowledge on financial sense.”
For First Entertainment, although clients must reside in Los Angeles County, the addition of Davis will allow the financial institution to expand its brand outside of the county and allow it to work on creative projects with the Lakers.
“This is one of the biggest partnerships we’ve ever had,” said Redmond. “We will be creative with everything we work on with AD and hopefully see an impact.”
Anthony Davis never felt quite the way he did in a game four years ago, the kind of place that’s almost indescribable, when he had 59 points and 20 rebounds.
This partnership is more than another accolade added to Davis’ resume. It’s more about outreach and helping the community.
“If I can reach one person on financial literacy, I’ve done my job. If you give them knowledge, you feel better about yourself,” said Davis. “If I can help at least one person with their financial literacy, I feel good about myself. My goal is to give them knowledge and First Entertainment can help me do that.”
“AD is not just a face, but an informant of financial literacy,” said Redmond. “You don’t see other athletes doing that in the community.”
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