Mekhi "Kingston" Taylor was chosen to participate in the NBA Math Hoops Global Championships, an international math competition powered by basketball, held in New York City. (Submitted by NBA Math Hoops)

NBA Math Hoops: It’s where basketball meets math.

Mekhi “Kingston” Taylor, a sixth-grade student from Portland, is chosen as one of 24 students from across the country, and Australia, who are headed to the NBA Draft in New York City.

But these ballers aren’t breaking ankles.

Instead, they’re breaking down math equations.

This group of students are competing in the NBA Math Hoops Global Championships, an international math competition powered by basketball, hosted in alignment with the NBA Draft.

NBA Math Hoops, created by the nonprofit Learn Fresh, is a STEM education program targeted at using the game of basketball to teach core math skills, according to a press release.

“Kingston loves that NBA Math Hoops combines math with play and being able to ‘draft’ his team! He is looking forward to competing against other kids and seeing who they draft,” Destiny Spruill, his mom, said in an email.

Participants in the global championship are students who have played throughout the year and will represent their regions. For many, this is their first time leaving their hometowns.

Kingston represents the Trail Blazers Math Hoops program.

The Portland Math Hoops program is part of a larger STEM continuum sponsored by First Tech Credit Union.

First Tech sponsors the NBA Math Hoops and MLS STEM Goals programs in Portland in collaboration with three local professional sports teams: the NBA’s Trail Blazers, MLS’s Timbers and NWSL’s Thorns.

The goal of the partnership is to provide a continuum of STEM learning offerings to students across the region, connecting to their passions in sports, which will be offered free of charge to educators to implement. This initiative features locally tailored versions of each program.

Students qualify for the championship by playing a minimum of 25 games and completing 10 curriculum units throughout the season. Additional qualifying factors include academic growth, sportsmanship and perseverance inside and outside of the classroom.

Students are nominated by their educators. This year marked the highest number of applicants in the program’s history, according to a news release.

This three-day event brings competition, learning and community. Throughout the event, students will have the chance to attend the NBA Draft, explore landmarks around New York, engage in hands-on STEM experiences with program partners and compete for the championship title.

In its third year since NBA Math Hoops went international, there have been twelve consecutive championship tournaments, according to a press release. Past events were hosted in cities like San Francisco, Detroit and Philadelphia.

During the 2025 season, NBA Math Hoops served 3,000 educators and over 200,00 students across all regions. Since 2012, NBA Math Hoops has served over 1 million students in partnership with nearly 30 NBA and WNBA teams and founding partners including the NBA, Hasbro, and Getty Images.