NBA Family and Sprint Tip off NBA Green Week 2012

— Sprint Serving as the First-Ever Presenting Partner of NBA Green Week —

— Program Includes Launch of an “Unlimited Acts of Green” Facebook Application to Encourage Fans to “Live Green” —

NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE), April 03, 2012 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Sprint today tipped off NBA Green Week presented by Sprint, which runs through April 11. As part of the program, the entire NBA family, together with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Sprint will team up to generate awareness and funding to protect the environment.

NBA Commissioner David Stern and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse launched NBA Green Week presented by Sprint today during a cell phone recycling event at a Sprint Store in New York City. Sprint is serving as the first-ever presenting partner of NBA Green Week, which began in 2009.

As part of their shared commitment to highlighting the importance of environmental responsibility, the NBA and Sprint will launch “Unlimited Acts of Green,” an exclusive Facebook application to encourage fans to make greener choices in their daily lives. The application will provide a list of green acts that fans can choose from, including cell phone recycling, and display the resulting impact of all fan pledges by way of greenhouse gases saved, electricity saved and water saved, and demonstrating the power of collective action.

In addition, the NRDC will debut a nationally televised public service announcement highlighting the steps the NBA has taken to be a more environmentally friendly organization and encouraging fans to visit nba.com/green or nrdc.org/sports to learn how they can help to protect the environment. Throughout NBA Green Week, teams and players also will participate in hands-on community service projects, players will wear special adidas on-court apparel, coaching staff will wear NBA Green lapel pins, and teams will hold auctions and promotions to benefit environmental preservation organizations.

As part of NBA Green Week, Sprint is reminding fans that it is important to recycle their wireless devices to avoid having them end up in landfills. Through the Sprint Buyback program fans may recycle eligible, used wireless phones from any carrier and receive up to $300 instant credit when they switch to Sprint or add a new line of service. The goal and benefit of the program is to collect unwanted wireless phones and to properly reuse or recycle the electronic waste. To date, Sprint, which ranks third on Newsweek’s list of the greenest companies in America, has kept more than 28 million wireless devices out of landfills. The NBA and Sprint will also host e-recycling events in Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando as part of their ongoing efforts to encourage fans to recycle wireless devices and practice environmental responsibility. For more information please visit www.sprintbuyback.com.

“We’re excited to highlight the importance of environmental responsibility through our presenting partnership of NBA Green Week,” said Ralph Reid, vice president-Corporate Social Responsibility, Sprint. “Our collaboration provides a great opportunity to reach out to fans and customers about the environmental and financial benefits of recycling wireless devices.”

Throughout NBA Green Week, adidas – the league’s official outfitter – will outfit all players with 100 percent organic cotton NBA Green shooting shirts. Players will also wear NBA Green headbands and wristbands made from 45 percent organic cotton during games throughout the week to raise additional environmental awareness.

“Thanks to our new partnership with Sprint and great leadership from the NRDC, the NBA and our teams continue to identify and implement new procedures to reduce waste and energy consumption across all of our business areas,” said NBA Executive Vice President, Social Responsibility & Player Programs Kathleen Behrens. “NBA Green Week presented by Sprint highlights the importance of environmental protection while encouraging fans to do their part by adopting green habits.”

Each of the league’s 30 teams will encourage fans to participate in greening efforts by hosting community service events, including tree plantings, recycling drives, and park clean-up days. Teams will also hold in-arena Go Green Awareness Nights featuring auctions to support environmental protection programs and promotions.

“The NBA is a model for responsible corporate citizenship and should be applauded for its work promoting energy efficiency, recycling and conserving our fresh water supplies,” said NRDC Senior Scientist Allen Hershkowitz, Ph.D. “We congratulate the league for using its unique visibility and market influence to engage millions of NBA fans on the importance of protecting our environment.”

During NBA All-Star 2012, Sprint and the NBA recycled 23,000 pounds of old electronics at recycling events in Orlando. Throughout the season, the NBA is continuing to take steps to be a more environmentally responsible organization. To learn more about what the NBA and its teams are doing to “go green,” please visit www.nba.com/green.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com, www.facebook.com/sprint, www.twitter.com/sprint, and www.twitter.com/sprintgreennews.

About the Natural Resources Defense Council

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 2005, NRDC has been the world’s leader in professional and collegiate sports greening. As a result of NRDC’s work and EPA award-winning Greening Advisor, more than 100 professional teams have adopted environmental initiatives at their stadiums or arenas, and countless league “Jewel Events” have benefited from NRDC’s guidance. NRDC uses scientific expertise to help improve the efficiency of sports operations to reduce waste, improve environmental performance, benefit public health and uncover cost savings. Visit us at nrdc.org/sports.

About NBA Cares

NBA Cares is the league’s social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA’s long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have donated more than $175 million to charity, provided more than 1.8 million hours of hands-on service to communities around the world, and created more than 625 places where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: KaBOOM!, Rebuilding Together, Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.