Players who reach the NBA figure out quickly how blessed they are – and ways to extend those blessings to others in their communities.
Quentin Grimes learned that lesson a lot earlier in life.
As a high-school senior in the north Houston area, Grimes used his platform to award a Play It Forward grant to a local student as part of the Play With Purpose initiative. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year and gladly joined forces with the non-profit organization’s founders.
“Their son was a real good friend of mine,” Grimes said during the Mavs Academy Hoop Camp Thursday at the team’s practice facility. “We went to high school together and my mom got close with their mom and they had a super-nice family. They had a non-profit and I just wanted to do whatever I can to help and to give back to the community.”
And he hasn’t stopped since.
On Thursday, Grimes visited all three of the Hoop Camps run by the Mavs Academy coaches for kids ranging from 6 to 16 years old.
He hopscotched the Dallas area from Rockwall to Frisco and, finally, to the practice court where he will join his new Maverick teammates in September for training camp.
“If you have the ability to give back, it’s something you should do,” Grimes said. “To be able to pass down knowledge about basketball or just growing up, and inspire a whole other generation – especially in my community down in Houston. The hurricane at the time was tough on everybody. To be able to help during that time was important, to have the resources to be able to do that.”
Grimes grew up in the Spring area north of Houston and went to school at The Woodlands, where he would be the No. 8 recruit coming out of high school in 2018.
His recruitment was fierce and came down to Kentucky, Kansas and Texas, blue-blood programs. He chose Kansas. But a year later, when it wasn’t exactly what he expected, he transferred to the University of Houston, which had been recruiting him out of high school, but knew Grimes had offers from more high-profile programs.
“They (the Cougars) were coming to see me play every week, but they weren’t the powerhouse that they are now, that we helped build,” Grimes said. “If they were like they are now, I would have been at UH as a freshman.”
When he returned to his home town, Grimes did so with a splash, helping the Cougars reach the Final Four in his final season at UH.
Then he got drafted 25th overall and spent two-plus seasons with the New York Knicks before getting traded to Detroit in February.
“I knew it was coming,” Grimes said. “But I feel like everything happens for a reason. I knew Dallas was trying to get me for a while at the trade deadline. I felt like I was going to get traded to the Mavs at some point.”
And now, he’s here to spread his defensive tenacity, which was one of the points he made sure to emphasize to campers on Thursday as he had a captive audience while answering questions before taking on the kids in a few shooting games.
Imparting keys to success, not just in basketball but in life, is a point of emphasis for Grimes whenever he talks to younger people.
And he’s had success at pretty much every level. He was a member of the U.S. Under-18 team that won gold at the Tournament of the Americas in 2018.
“It was a great experience to get to play with players that you’ve never played with before,” he said. “And we won the gold pretty easily. We had Cole (Anthony) and Tyrese (Maxey), so we had a good team.”
And, of course, Grimes was the MVP of that tournament.
The Mavericks are hoping Grimes can bring that sort of showing this season. He’s expected to help fill the void left by the departure of Derrick Jones Jr. And Grimes already has shown in his first three NBA seasons that the role Jones played is perfect for him.
He shot better than 38 percent from three-point range in his first two seasons. And his defense was what caught the Mavericks’ eye early last season when they angled to get Grimes.
He doesn’t yet have a place to live in Dallas. He’s been traveling some, spending time with his family in Houston and took in the first few days of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
But he knows that training camp and the 2024-25 season will be here soon enough.
“I can’t wait to get started,” he said. “I just want to show the Dallas fans that I’m willing to do whatever is needed to help this team win games.”
And to ingratiate himself in the Dallas community.
X: @ESefko
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