33rd Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner
Benefiting The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis


Jennifer Lopez with Marc Buoniconti and Alex Rodriguez
The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, honored an unparalleled group of Hall of Famers, Gold Medalists, World Champions and philanthropists in front of a crowd of over 1,500 supporters tonight at the New York Hilton Midtown. Of great note, millions were raised at the Fund’s 33rd Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner for groundbreaking spinal cord injury research.
The Great Sports Legends Dinner honored Alex Rodriguez, World Series Champion with the New York Yankees and one of the greatest professional baseball players of all-time; Ray Allen, basketball legend and two-time NBA Champion and member of the Naismith Hall of Fame; Bob Griese, member of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins and two-time Super Bowl Champion; Mike Smith, Hall of Fame jockey who recently rode Justify to the Triple Crown; Brian Boitano, Gold Medal figure skater; and Amy Purdy, the most decorated U.S. Paralympic Snowboarder and actress, author and motivational speaker.
In addition to the Sports Legends, two special awards were given: Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras, a prodigious philanthropist, top male model and one of the greatest polo players of all time, received The Buoniconti Fund’s 2018 Philanthropist Award. Chris Evert, a noted humanitarian and tennis Hall of Famer who won 18 Grand Slam Singles Championships and three Grand Slam Doubles Championships, was conferred The Buoniconti Fund’s 2018 Humanitarian Award.
The evening, presented by the Tudor Group, was hosted by NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti and his son Marc, chaired by Mark Dalton, and emceed by NBC Sports personality Bob Costas. The Grammy Award-winning disco and funk group KC and the Sunshine Band performed live to a raucous crowd of supporters.
Christine Lynn and Nick Buoniconti
Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez with Bob and Jill Costas
Chris Evert, Brian Boitano and Amy Purdy
Diana Morrison and Alitza Weiss
Bob Griese
Alex Rodriguez
Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard and Marc Buoniconti
Harry and Maribel Carson
Ray Allen with Marc Buoniconti and Andre Dawson
Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard and Nick Buoniconti
Victoria Ranger Nunez, Mark Dalton and Chris Evert
Dr. Barth Green
Amy Purdy
Nick and Marc Buoniconti with Jim Ferraro
KC and The Sunshine Band
2018 Great Sports Legends Dinner
Cynthia Vijitakula and Marc Buoniconti with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez
Nick Buoniconti with Mark Dalton and Chris Evert
Paul and Swanee DiMare with Ray Allen
Christine Lynn with Ignacio Nacho Figueras and Delphina Blaquier
Dr. Barth Green with Nat Moore
2018 Legends and Honorees
Dr. Eugene and Suzie Sayfie
Terry Buoniconti
Nick Buoniconti with Mike Smith
Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard with Bob Costas
Bob Griese, Nick Buoniconti and Dick Anderson
Ray Allen and Alex Rodriguez
Scott Erickson, Marc Buoniconti, Swanee DiMare and Collin Egglesfield
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez with Mark Dalton