The Washington Mystics are banking on the promise of basketball and free food to get 1,500 teens talking about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington. The women’s basketball team — which launched a foundation in November with Black Entertainment Television co-founder and Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson — will host “The Mystics Hip-Hop Forum” on July 27 at the Verizon Center, immediately before their home game.

“We’re trying to bring the classroom to the basketball court,” said Cynthia Dinkins, president of the Washington Mystics Foundation.