Following two of Zendaya’s upcoming films being pushed back to the 2024 movie schedule in light of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors strike, the actress and her Spider-Man co-star and partner, Tom Holland, took a field trip to Oakland this week. And, as the couple ventured to West Oakland Middle School on Friday with a couple of charities to help clean up the school’s playground, they not only put smiles on faces, but the Peter Parker actor also learned how to do an impressive basketball trick.
Amid Zendaya and Tom Holland teaming up with the basketball charities, Hoopbus and Project Backboard, for the cleanup event, they were also joined by Hustle’s Elvin Rodriguez and the Harlem Globetrotter Sam Diaz among other personalities, per the San Francisco Chronicle. During their time at the Oakland middle school, Holland even learned how to spin a basketball on his finger. Check it:
Christon Staples, who is a professional dunker for the Globetrotters and was actually featured on Season 14 of The Bachelorette, can be seen teaching the Spider-Man actor how to spin a basketball. It took a couple of tries, but Holland got some help doing the trick and it looked awesome! You can even hear Zendaya in the background commenting on how he “got too excited” the first time Staples passed him the spinning basketball.
Zendaya also documented the event on her Instagram, sharing some custom shirts by an East Bay clothing company called Oaklandish, along with the below photo of Tom Holland dribbling a basketball. Holland can be seen standing in front of Hoopbus, which is a remodeled yellow school bus that serves as a non-profit that travels across the U.S. and starts discussions about race and equality through basketball.
The other charity that was present at the event was Project Backboard, which restores basketball courts with an artsy touch. This isn’t the first time the couple has gone to public schools for a good cause. Zendaya previously took Holland back to her own alma mater at the Oakland School for the Arts last year after the actress previously distributed school supplies with Global Family Elementary School in 2019 and made visits to Fruitvale Elementary School, where her mom was a teacher.
It’s sweet to see Zendaya and Tom Holland getting involved to help communities in the actress's hometown of Oakland as the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike continues to pause Hollywood productions. This week, Dune: Part Two was delayed by Warner Bros. from its November 2023 release date to March 15, 2024. Previously, Zendaya’s tennis drama, Challengers, was also pulled from the Venice Film Festival and moved to an April 2024 release date.
Of course, it’s always great to see Zendaya and Tom Holland attend events together! The adorable Spider-Man couple are very “protective” about keeping their relationship private, but seeing them do community projects together is another reason why they are one of our favorite Hollywood couples!
