This is What Ten Years of Building Legends in Frisco Looks Like

This article is sponsored by the Texas Legends.

Frisco, we’re in the midst of basketball season and lucky enough to have G-league play in our backyard. But it’s been a decade in the making to build this history-making, record-breaking, impact-making team that is our local Texas Legends.

Let’s look at a few areas the Legends have grown from that inaugural season a decade ago.

Founded on a Texas-sized Tradition of Giving

Anyone who has been in the organization from the get-go will explain that the Legends were built on the giving process. They wanted to be an asset to the community, not just simply work and play here. From day one, Owner Donnie Nelson made a point to be the team that affects the lives of young people. He said,

Let’s bring real-time sports right front and center for our kids and in the process try to help as many people as we can because this community is all about family.

Donnie’s vision has stayed strong over the decade of delivering basketball but really delivering a greater sense of community here in Frisco. Basketball camps, STEM programs at elementary schools, hospital visits, toy drive, supply drives, helping at food banks – it’s all in a day’s work when you’re a part of the Texas Legends, on or off the court.

What about those jerseys? 

The first Texas Legends game you attend you might sit down, glance at the court and ask your neighbor, “Why aren’t the Legends in blue or white jerseys?” Don’t worry, there’s a really good explanation. It’s more than a military night each season; more than any obligatory box to check to make sure you’re giving back.

The intent is to put the spotlight on as many charities as possible. It’s a chance for them to tell their story and talk about what they’re doing to better our community. It’s making the community and charity the “legends” of the night.

Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer, Salvation Army, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County are some of the many charitable partners the Legends organization has worked with over the years.

The players who have proudly worn several seasons’ worth of Legends jerseys say it’s beyond the fabric they wear. They learn what it means, what each charity stands for, and the people who are impacted by every home game.

The team oftentimes incorporates the players into activities leading up to the basketball game so that they get an up-close and personal opportunity to get to know the charities. The players will tell you it’s those interactions with the kids or the volunteers or the families impacted by the charity that they remember. It’s a special and unique part of the Legends family.

The story of the jerseys didn’t happen overnight. It started with maybe two jersey nights. But, with commitment and team members who make it happen, the Texas Legends are now able to pull off 24 jersey nights at 24 home games.

Partnerships with impact.

Growth over the 10 years has also come in the form of player access and facilities. Take Baylor Scott & White Medical Center’s Sports Performance Center at the Star, for example. It’s a state-of-the-art facility the Legends access for practice.

The top-notch weight room, turf field, basketball court, and recovery room are invaluable to the team. The basketball court known as The Bill Keaton Court is named after the visionary for the facility, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center CEO Bill Keaton. Keaton worked closely with Malcolm, Donnie, and the Dallas Cowboys to make this a resource the Legends can be proud to call their home away from home. (Keaton passed away in May 2017 after a battle with cancer.)

The court, the community impact, the charitable jerseys you see at each home game in Frisco – these are all ingredients added to this unique recipe the Texas Legends have been cooking up for the last 10 years.

It’s a team that I’m proud my children can grow up with… A tangible, towering team of community legends.