The Malden Neighborhood Basketball League (MNBL) was founded in 1985 by Kenny N. Mazonson. The League was established in order to provide an opportunity for at-risk urban high school aged youth in grades 10-12 to participate in an organized basketball program, regardless of experience and ability in the sport.

For the past thirty-two years, the MNBL has been the only non-school sponsored winter sports program available to Malden’s high school age youth, a population often overlooked or left out of other community-based athletic programs. Since it was launched, the MNBL has reached well over 1,500 Malden youth who have enjoyed the game of basketball in a safe, adult-supervised environment with their peers.