CHARACTER COUNTS

Suns’ Bismack Biyombo, Ish Wainright visit kids at Valley hospital

Feb 15, 2023, 9:30 PM

The Phoenix Suns are beloved throughout the Valley partly because of the culture they have built.

Culture extends far off the court, and this Suns teams proved again why it extends outside of the Footprint Center.

On Monday, utility man Ish Wainright and center Bismack Biyombo took time out of their regular-season schedule to visit kids at a local hospital.

The two, as well as the Suns gorilla, went to Banner Children’s at Desert in Mesa to see and cheer up kids.

Biyombo is no stranger to philanthropy. Before the year began, the big man donated his entire season’s salary to build a hospital in his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Wainright spent time stalking to patients and chatting with families in the pediatric ICU, pediatric oncology and general pediatrics units, the hospital said in a release.

The gorilla performed to make patients laugh. The trio also brought gifts, including autographed trading cards and a stuffed gorilla, for each child.

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