By Chelsea Quackenbush

DALLAS – Most kids dream of being able to see their favorite athletes play games against big-time rivals from courtside seats. Some would die just to get a high five from one.

But more than 80 children in Buckner Dallas and Fort Worth community programs got to shoot hoops for an afternoon with the 2011 World Champion Dallas Mavericks.

The session was the second annual Turkey Dunk hosted by the Mavs on Dec. 22, 2011, at the American Airlines Center.

In a star-studded afternoon, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Lamar Odom, Jason Kidd and other Mavs players played games and ran drills with the kids. Nowitzki, the seven foot MVP from Germany, lifted kids up in the air so they could slam dunk the ball.

“The collaboration with the Mavericks organization has been fantastic,” Dallas community program director Abe Jaquez said. “It was clear that the children were impacted by the players’ presence and the time they took to play and teach the children. Professional athletes have the platform and opportunity to have a positive or negative impact on children. On that day, it was evident that a major positive impact was felt in the lives of the children that participated in the practice.”

The Mavs autographed all 85 kids’ T-shirts before heading to their team practice. Several of the players served an On The Border lunch of quesadillas and tacos after the session.