“I think there’s just nothing more special than being in a room and everybody’s rooting for the same team,” the Insecure creator and star tells PEOPLE
Issa Rae has her brothers to thank for her love of the NBA.
The actress, 38, chatted with PEOPLE about her love of basketball and how it happened all thanks to her family.
Noting how her “older brothers are huge Lakers fans,” Rae, speaking at AT&T’s Game Ball Experience last week, says her youngest brother also became a fan, and “I honestly just felt left out.”
“[It lets me] bond with them,” the Insecure star adds of her fanfare.
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Rae tells PEOPLE that her brothers “have their own Lakers group chat” and she got into her own fandom of the NBA “more into my adulthood.”
“It’s just about being able to sit there with them, and then to also have my own gatherings and watch the game,” she says. “It’s such a good time.”
“I think there’s just nothing more special than being in a room and everybody’s rooting for the same team,” Rae adds. “Everybody’s emotional about whatever the plays are, and just getting excited about rooting for people.”Rae’s love of the sport extends past the NBA as well, given that she is also a huge supporter of college basketball and the WNBA.
“It’s incredible, especially on the WNBA and the women’s college basketball side, just to see the attention that some of the players are getting, and — even through the negativity — just how invested people are in the success of these athletes, these women,” she says.
“That’s just a fanfare that we haven’t seen in the past before, and I hope that this only continues and also extends to the treatment and the compensation for female athletes moving forward,” Rae adds. “… I’m just excited for what’s to come.”
Rae’s love of basketball took center stage at The Park at The Grove in Los Angeles on Friday, where she partnered with AT&T to host a Game Ball Experience, an event that was held exclusively for the wireless provider’s customers.
At the event, a 20-foot tall “game ball” machine distributed various prizes, including accessories, gift cards, signed NBA player basketballs and NBA conference final tickets. One lucky winner also received a $5,000 cash prize.
“I’m really just excited to get out and celebrate with everyone,” Rae told PEOPLE at the event. “… It’s a big giveaway, and it’s really community-centered, so I’m just excited to get into it.”
She added: “It’s just a great opportunity to … get people together in the name of the game, and just show the appreciation that AT&T and the NBA all have for the community.”