The most important nets talked about at the Jam Session during NBA All-Star Weekend had nothing to do with the New Jersey Nets or the nets swishing Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center during the big game.

The most important nets of the weekend are lifesavers.

NothingButNets.net is a Web site dedicated to raising money to buy mosquito netting to prevent the spread of malaria, which is the leading killer of children in Africa. One child dies from the disease every 30 seconds or a few seconds longer than it takes for a shot clock to buzz.

An informational booth is near the Hall of Fame display at the Jam Session in the Mandalay Bay South Convention Center and is staffed by the United Nations Foundation.

Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly has spearheaded the campaign and the NBA has signed on with its full support.

All-Star Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks committed to donate $1,000 for each basket he made in the All-Star Game.

Jason Kapono of the Miami Heat pledged $100 for each basket he made in Saturday's Three-Point Shootout, which he won.

The 25-year-old forward from Long Beach, Calif., also visited the "Nothing But Nets" booth Sunday afternoon.

"I'll gladly contribute to this cause and hopefully help save some lives," said Kapono, who graduated from UCLA, where he majored in history.

"A lot of us don't know what's going on outside our world because we get so caught up in what we're doing.

"Everyone needs help. ... I'm in a spot now where I can."

The NBA's support of the fight against malaria in Africa is another indication of how the league is inching closer to becoming the International Basketball Association. No other professional American league or series shows such diversity.

The NBA is known for reaching into American communitie, as it has done all week around Las Vegas, and several players have focused on their African homeland.

Former player Manute Bol contributed much of his earnings from 11 years in the NBA to help children in his native Sudan through his Ring True Foundation.

One of his protégés, Luol Deng, 21, a second-year pro for the Chicago Bulls, devotes considerable time and money to the World Food Program and participated in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders tours in Africa last year.

He's eager to educate the world about the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

You can get a NothingButNets.net hat today for a $10 donation or a shirt for $20 at the Jam Session.

It's the best souvenir you can buy because the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches every dollar donated to the effort. Every $10 supplies one insecticide-treated bed net.

• 2 FOR 1 -- Today is the final day for the Jam Session, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You can find a 2-for-1 admission coupon in today's Review-Journal on page 10C.