NBA Champion Craig Hodges on Chess Stream

Dynamic Chess hosted a conversation with two-time NBA champion and social activist Craig Hodges during a live stream on Twitch. National Master William Aramil hosted the session while Daaim Shabazz of The Chess Drum was also part of the broadcast. Daniel X Jones of the National Blitz League (NBL) was originally scheduled on the panel, but there were some technical difficulties. He supported the show in the chat.

Craig Hodges with Michael Jordan during championships years

The conversation with two-time NBA champion dealt with his beginnings in Chicago Heights, trip to the White House, his beautiful African garment, the letter he addressed to President George Bush, and a discussion about activism. He gave his view on the 10-part series “The Last Dance and what he took away from it. There were stories about playing with Michael Jordan and a couple of stories about coaching Kobe Bryant. He described the role he played in Kobe’s 81-point night!

In September 1992, Craig Hodges (seated second from left) with rapper Prince Akeem (with microphone) and May May on Youth Empowerment Day at Operation PUSH headquarters. Photo by Sun-Times

The viewers posed questions to him about the current protests and who some of the current day leaders he thought could advance the activism that he advocated during his playing days. He even gave some pearls of wisdom about chess! It was a great talk and Hodges urged to keep the momentum going!