Alley-Oop The Vote

Tigers Mascot

Illustration by Rob Lews

Player: Esperanza Spalding

Born in 1984 in Portland, Oregon, esperanza spalding is an eaabibacliitoti* artist, trained and initiated in the North American (masculine) jazz lineage and tradition. Her work interweaves through various combinations of instrumental music, improvisation, singing, composition, poetry, dance, therapeutic research, storytelling, teaching, regenerative agriculture, urban land & artist-sanctuary custodianship, and growing in love as a daughter, sister, cousin, niece, auntie, great-auntie, friend, while collaboratively decolonizing within and through her hometown community. She founded and serves as co-director of Prismid Sanctuary, a non-profit that creates and stewards free artist residency, performance, and workshop space in Portland, Oregon (Prismid.org). With her dance project “Off Brand gOdds” and her therapeutic music incubator “Songwrights Apothecary Lab” she co-leads performance, teaching, workshop, and therapeutic-arts research residencies in collaboration with colleges and arts venues across the Americas and throughout the world. She is a 2024 recipient of the Doris Duke Foundation Artist Award and a 2016 Ford Foundation “Art of Change” Fellow. *European-African ancestored being influenced by American cultures living in Indigenous Territories of Turtle Island

Player: Stephen Green

Player: Councilor Angelita Morillo

She’s been called Temu AOC, a Peacock Communist, and “a deeply unserious person with main character energy.” She’s also been called the most effective legislator in Portland, The People’s Princess, and Willamette Week’s 2025 winner for best political figure. As the first Gen Z Councilor in Portland, the only immigrant currently serving on Council, and the first known Councilor in Portland history to have experienced homelessness, Angelita Morillo brings her lived experience to her work making sure Portland is livable, accessible, and affordable for all. Her favorite sport is “petting her cats” and this is her first time ever playing basketball.

Player: Quintin Jones

Player: Mat Randol

Player: Jocelyn Rice

Jocelyn Rice is a mother and the interdisciplinary creative behind Black Earth United. Her clothing blends Black American cultural expressions, shaped by the struggle for liberation in the face of enslavement in North America, with designs rooted in the earth’s evolution and Diasporic history. Her garments have been featured in Vogue and Backpacker Magazine, sold at REI, and included in the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art in Brooklyn. Jocelyn honors our ancestors' spirits through the clothing we wear, reminding us of our deep responsibility to our past, present, and future, and of our connection to Mother Nature.

Player: Carrod Watson

Intisar Abioto

Coach: Helen Darling

Helen Darling is a former WNBA player, Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and dedicated literacy advocate committed to inspiring youth through education and sport. After her professional basketball career, she transitioned into education, using her platform to create engaging, movement-based literacy programs that build confidence, strengthen reading skills, and connect students to real-world role models. Through initiatives like Literature Layup, Let’s STAY L.I.T. Reading Circuit, and Courtside (Bookathon), Helen is helping students across the country develop a love for reading while reinforcing discipline, teamwork, and self-belief.

Suns Mascot

Illustration by Rob Lews

Player: Councilor Candace Avalos

Councilor Candace Avalos (or Candis Ávalos en español) is a first-generation “Blacktina” whose pronouns are she/her/ella. She is the daughter of Black Americans from southern Virginia and Guatemalan immigrants who made Washington, D.C. their home in the 1970s. Her upbringing in a multiracial, multilingual household instilled a deep commitment to justice, equity, and people-centered leadership. These early experiences sparked her interest in government and politics, laying the foundation for a life of service and accountability. Since moving to Portland in 2013, she has dedicated over a decade to public service—first at Portland State University, where she mentored student leaders through civic engagement, and then as Executive Director of Verde. Candace has always believed in the power of community to drive change. As the elected Councilor for East Portland’s District 1, Candace is committed to fostering civic pride and making sure that every Portlander has a voice in decisions about their city government.

Player: Shannon Boxx

Shannon Boxx enjoyed one of the most remarkable careers in U.S. Women’s National Team history. She was a member of three Olympic gold medal–winning teams, represented the U.S. in four FIFA Women’s World Cups, and helped the team capture the World Cup title in 2015. In recognition of her exceptional career, Boxx was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in May 2022. She received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 2024 honoring her athletic excellence and distinguished contributions beyond the field, making a significant impact in her career, community and society. Beyond her playing career, Boxx is a founding investor of Angel City FC in the NWSL and serves on the National Board for the Lupus Foundation of America, where she is an advocate, spokesperson, and keynote speaker. Driven by her own experience living with lupus, she has dedicated herself to raising awareness and supporting others affected by the disease. She has planned, organized, and managed five fundraising events for lupus research, education, and support. From 2019 to 2021, Boxx served as an executive mentor for Wolfpack Endeavor, an organization focused on empowering women to reinvent work through elite teams of female leaders. Currently, Boxx works as an on-air analyst for U.S. Women’s Soccer coverage on Turner Sports. In 2022, she founded Ethos Mentality Group and the Athletes Redefined Program which has since evolved into Future Playbook—a company dedicated to supporting and empowering female athletes to redefine their identities and purpose beyond sport.

Player: D'Artagnan Caliman

Player: JT Flowers

JT Flowers is a lifelong Portlander born and bred in the heart of inner-NE Portland's historic Albina district. Raised by a single mother and grandmother, neither of whom graduated from college, JT went on to earn his BA in Political Science with distinction from Yale University.​ ​ A Truman Scholar, Flowers also made history by becoming the first Black Rhodes Scholar in Oregon's history and holds master's degrees in U.S. History and Music Performance from the University of Oxford.​ JT serves as Senior Advisor at the Albina Vision Trust in addition to representing District 5 on TriMet's Board of Directors, which encompasses large portions of North and Northeast Portland. He also serves as the Board Vice Chair of the Williams & Russell CDC

Player: Terry Johnson

Player: Alexis Braly James

Alexis Braly James is the Founder and CEO of Construct the Present, a Portland-based, B Corp-certified leadership development and people strategy firm. With 18 years of experience, she works with organizations like the Smithsonian, the City of Portland, and Metro Regional Government to build cultures where people thrive. A Raj Sports Advisory Board member, Alexis is stepping onto the court because she believes what she tells every client: showing up changes everything. Don’t miss her — and don’t forget to vote in the May primaries.

Player: Samuel Thompson

Player: Representative Lamar Wise

Lamar Wise is an Oregon State Representative, representing House District 48 - SE Portland and North Clackamas. He is also the Projects Director for Oregon AFSCME, serving social service workers across the state. Lamar worked for the Oregon Student Association as Legislative Director, and later as Executive Director, during which time, he championed efforts to curb tuition increases and expand mental health services on college campuses. He has served on the state's Higher Education Coordinating Commission, the Governor's Racial Justice Council, and the state's Joint Task Force on Regional Behavioral Health Accountability."

Coach: Chabre Vickers

Master of Ceremonies: Libra Forde

Libra Forde is a nationally recognized leader whose path has been shaped by East Coast grit and West Coast serenity from New York City’s hustle to Hawaii’s calm. Her 25+ year journey spans elite athletics, entrepreneurship, executive leadership at Self Enhancement, Inc. as COO, and her current role as Executive Director of the Women’s Foundation of Oregon. Libra’s message resonates because she bridges lived experience with strategy, demonstrating that leadership rooted in integrity, rest, and community creates the conditions for justice to thrive. Libra also serves in key governance roles across the state, including as Chair of the Oregon Commission for Women, Director on the Oregon State Board of Education, and Community Ministry Board Member for Providence Health and Services Oregon Region. Her public service reflects her commitment to advancing equity and improving systems that shape the everyday lives of women, children, and families. As an executive leader, advocate, and award-winning speaker, Libra is known for powerful storytelling, strategic insight, and justice-centered leadership. Her messages remind audiences that healing is a continuous journey of self-discovery. She encourages others to embrace their stories, view challenges as stepping stones, and recognize the strength within themselves. Her accolades, including the Restorative Leader Award and the Women of Excellence Award, demonstrate her record of transformative leadership. A proud solo parent, Libra considers her children her greatest motivation. With a heart dedicated to justice and a mind focused on systemic change, she is here to ignite the spark in others, empowering them to move forward with confidence and purpose.

Performers: Be Present Art Group

Be Present Art Group is a multidisciplinary collective and cultural organization dedicated to curating immersive events and experiences rooted in Afro-centric music and artistic practices. With a focus on cultural production, the group brings together artists, musicians, and thinkers to explore the richness of Black creative expression across sound, movement, and visual art. Emerging from this broader collective is an offshoot ensemble led by Roman Norfleet, who bandleads a rotating group of collaborators guided by a unified artistic direction of spontaneity and deep listening. This ensemble operates as a fluid extension of Be Present Art Group’s ethos, emphasizing collaboration, adaptability, and the power of gathering in real time. Central to the group’s work is an engagement with the present moment—an ongoing inquiry into improvisation as both method and philosophy. Through live performance and curated environments, Be Present Art Group approaches improvisation as a pathway to liberation, freedom, and spiritual practice, inviting participants and audiences alike into a space where creation unfolds in the now.

Commentators: News with My Fiancé

Referee: Kevin McGlothen

Kevin McGlothen is a longtime referee in the Portland Basketball community and works as a social worker for the judicial system. He is refereeing the game to help Portland make the right call for the May primaries. Showing up matters-- on and off the court.