Emotions and Celebrations Highlight 2019 NBA Draft

Photo: Julio Cortez (AP)

To be drafted as a professional athlete in this country is special. From high school, to college and then to the pros - opportunity to advance constantly narrows.

Last night, the lives of several athletes and their families changed forever.

Let me be clear, I am a hometown Dallas Mavericks fan and a longtime Los Angeles fan (pre-Lebron), but last night’s NBA Draft had me rooting for 60 young men I don’t know and their respective new NBA teams.

Zion Williamson has known for months that he would be the first overall pick and that he would go to the New Orleans Pelicans. We all knew in fact that he would go to a Pelican organization in a true rebuilding phase. What none of us could’ve prepared for was the gentle giant sobbing after hearing his name called.

Alongside Williamson was his mother. When interviewed, he did nothing but sang his mother’s praises. She sacrificed for him his entire life. According to Williamson, his mother put her dreams on hold so that he could pursue his basketball dreams. He cried. He hugged her. He showed viewers who will benefit from his newfound wealth, without ever making mention to such. His mother has been by his side each step of the way and he is poised to show her his gratitude.

Several players last night brought with them to the draft memories of late family members. Williamson’s Duke University teammate R.J. Barrett was drafted # 3 overall by the New York Knicks. In recent weeks, Barrett has made it known that he wanted to be a Knick. Last night his longtime dream came true. He shared a touching embrace with his father and then reflected on time spent with his late grandfather, watching the Knicks play.

So often fans and spectators get lost in the glitz, glam, fame and fortune of professional sports that we forget the people playing these sports are human. Watching players celebrate and cry tears of joy with their families adds a humanistic side to sports that we should all embrace.

There were likely millions of young people around the world watching last night’s NBA Draft. They want that moment. They aspire for such a career. As they watched last night’s festivities, they weren’t thinking about shoe deals, parties, competition, nor the like. Their immediate sentiments were about how such a moment can make life better (financially, environmentally, etc.) for themselves and their families. There is absolutely nothing wrong with such a dream.