The first KaBOOM! build of 2007 had some special guest stars: several NBA legends and 130 NBA Cares volunteers. The Lake Forest Elementary School in New Orleans got a new playground featuring an adventure bridge, tire swing, picnic tables and benches. 

The build was done in conjunction with a NBA marketing meeting. Former NBA players Willis Reed, Bob Lanier, Clyde Drexler, and Dominique Wilkins helped build a rock wall for the playground. More than 175 community volunteers had already gotten to work when the NBA crew arrived, putting up borders, setting posts, and moving lumber. Hugh Webber, the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets COO, and Chad Shinn, from the Hornets Executive Office of the Board, worked on a triple slide.  

Despite a brief-but-intense rain shower in the afternoon, the volunteers hustled to get the project done in time, aided by 120 kids who came out and made stepping stones and a paper chain for the closing ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30. As the last piece of engineered wood fiber (which is spread across the playspace ground) was raked out and the last bolt tightened, the volunteers gathered to hear closing remarks from the KaBOOM! project manager, the school principal, Webber, and NBA Commissioner David Stern. The paper chain was cut and the first new playspace of 2007 was complete!
View the build's photo album!