The NBA seems to get a bad rap with players and bad press around the league. While there are plenty of good guys out there, I want to look at these three in particular.

Indiana Pacers – TJ Ford – Almost as soon as the fast point guard entered the league, he created the TJ Ford Foundation to help give back to the community. After suffering a terrible spinal injury (which took more than a year off his career), he has battled through adversity to come back and be a solid contributor to the Pacers.

Milwaukee Bucks – Michael Redd – The suave lefty snuck into the second round after coming out of Ohio State early. Not known as a great shooter in college, he perfected his shooting and sculpted his body to become a top player in the NBA. His hard work earned him a huge contract with the Milwaukee Bucks and a spot on the 2008 US Olympic Team. After signing that contract, he purchased a church building for his father’s ministry in his hometown of Columbus.

Phoenix Suns – Grant Hill – After a stellar career at Duke, Hill burst onto the NBA scene and became a star. After signing with Orlando in 2000, things started to go downhill. Injuries plagued him for the next several years, before having something of a renaissance of late. His persistence over ankle problems, a staph infection and a sports hernia shows just how dedicated he was to getting healthy once again. Off the court, he is the only player to receive the NBA Sportsmanship Award twice (2005 and 2008). While continually working in the community, he has also become an advocate for staph infection awareness and prevention, even appearing in public service announcements for the cause.

So as you can see, this is just a small sample of positive role models in the NBA. If the media emphasized how good many of them are doing, perhaps the league’s reputation could change.