The Harold and Carole Pump Foundation's 25th anniversary dinner raised more than $2.8 million and united some of the sports world's biggest legends

"Twenty-five years ago, I made a promise to my late father that my brother and I would try to make a difference in our community -- not through words, but through actions," said David Pump when he took the stage at the Beverly Hilton on Aug. 15.

David, along with his brother Dana Pump, founded the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation (HCPF) to raise funds and awareness for cancer treatment after losing his father to cancer in 2000 and his mother in 2012.

"Tonight, my heart is full," David Pump added. "We've taken so many steps to get here, and both Dana and I, along with our family, are very appreciative of everyone here to support us."

Those supporters included an impressive array of guests from the entertainment and sports worlds, including Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Tyson, Shaquille O'Neal, Sammy Sosa, Darryl Strawberry, Steve Garvey, Storm Reid, Sugar Ray Leonard, Johnny Gill, Jon Lovitz, Judge Mathis, Mario Lopez, Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good.

After an extensive silent auction with lots of sports memorabilia, a sparkly Robin Thicke kicked off the program and got guests dancing stage-side to a few of his hits like "Lost Without U" and "Blurred Lines."

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Magic Johnson introduced Dana and David Pump, whose foundation has raised more than $10.5 million for the Carole Pump Women's Center, the Harold and Carole Pump Department of Radiation Oncology, the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Cancer Center at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and other nonprofit community charities.

"Only those two guys could bring everyone together," Johnson said. "That says a lot about both of them, to carry on their parents' legacy. ... You would never think these two red-headed dudes would be this generous but also mindful, especially in a time when it's all about 'me.' And they're saying, it's not about me; it's about my parents. So we should clap for that."

Johnson also called out Oscar Robertson. "That's who I wanted to model myself after," he said. "I just wanted to be a basketball player until I saw him. He not only dominated on the court, but also in business, so that's how I got my whole thought process of being a businessman."

The night -- which raised more than $2.8 million in support of the foundation's mission to advance cancer treatment and fund critical programs -- also honored Aaron Donald, Barry Bonds, Spike Lee and Wayne Gretzky with the Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as Reggie McKnight and R.J. Melman with the Humanitarian Award.

Lee recalled growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. "When you're a kid, and then later on in life, you get to meet your heroes, it's a big moment," Lee said. "So many of you guys, I watched you. ... One of my heroes in Brooklyn, Mike Tyson's in house. And I got Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry in the house! I was in the last row in Shea Stadium and the ball rolled through Buckner's legs."

Lee continued, "Magic has always been a friend, and he was one individual that gave me money to finish Malcolm X when the studio did not want Malcolm X to be the length it needed to be."

"I became a filmmaker because my mother loved movies," Lee confessed. "My father hated Hollywood, so since I was an only child, she took me."

"I'm here because of my mother, and my mother died of liver cancer when I was a sophomore of Morehouse college," he said, describing the emotional experience of leaving college upon her being taken ill and how he received the news she'd passed from his aunt over the phone, once he'd returned.

"Often, if you're lucky, your parents expose you to stuff you might not be exposed to before," Lee said. "So I'm honored to be here tonight [to support] the great things the Pump brothers have done with their foundation."