Suns' Biyombo donating 2021-22 salary to build hospital in Congo
Veteran Phoenix Suns center Bismack Biyombo announced he's donating his salary from the 2021-22 season to help build a hospital in his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In a video released by his charitable foundation on Friday, Biyombo explains that the building will be named after his father, who died in August 2021.
"What I told my agent was my salary this year would be going to the construction of a hospital back home, to give hope to the hopeless at home," he said. "And those individuals that cannot take their family members out, (I) want to be able to give them better conditions so that they can somewhat have hope that their loved ones will be able to leave and see another day."
Biyombo added: "I want to give these people better conditions by building a hospital that will be named after my dad. The reality is, I wanted to gift him something that would continue to service people under his name."
The 29-year-old also revealed he chose to wear No. 18 this season as a tribute to his father's birthday.
After his contract with the Charlotte Hornets ended last summer, Biyombo did not have a home in the NBA entering the 2021-22 season. A slew of early season injuries led the Suns to sign the defensive-minded big man to a 10-day hardship contract, and Biyombo quickly earned a prorated $1.4-million deal for the remainder of the season.
He's averaged 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game entering Friday's contest against the Toronto Raptors.