Good fortune at Fortnite leads to foundation for Nets’ Faried

Kenneth Faried is pretty good at Fortnite. In fact, back in June, when he was still with the Nuggets, he finished second at the Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am Tournament. Not bad considering he wound up being paired with a last-minute fill-in. He took home a cool $250,000 in prize money which had to be used for a charitable purpose.

Here’s his reaction from ESPN back then...

This week, Faried announced that he’s using the winnings to establish a foundation, Kenneth Faried HAT (for humble, appreciative, and thankful).

“With the money I won for charity, I started a foundation called Kenneth Faried HAT. ‘HAT’ means humble, appreciative, and thankful,” he told Joe Lemire of SportsTechie. “I’ve been a person my whole life who believed that, through obstacles in life that you see, you may have good and bad, but you should always remain humble, appreciative, and thankful for everything—no matter what heights you reach in life or what you receive in this life.”

While not disclosing specifics, Faried said the foundation would focus on using basketball and sports to help young people.

“The foundation builds upon that for kids,” he said. “I’m trying to teach kids to be this way through basketball and the fundamentals of basketball, teamwork, being a partner to somebody, being respectful, listening to a leader and not just a coach as a leader. Some players step up and become leaders. We’re trying to teach that through basketball and other sports.”

Faried, a native of Newark and a graduate of Newark Arts High, didn’t play in the Nets preseason opener, due to an ankle injury. He practiced partially Friday.

• Brooklyn Nets Forward Kenneth Faried Launched a Foundation From Fortnite - Joe Lemire - Sports Techie