By: Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau
BROOKLYN (Eagle News) — With the 2019 NBA Draft in the record books, the number of overflowing tears that fell through the eyes of this year’s draftees resonated across Barclays Center, in what many can define as the most genuine draft yet to date. In their fashionably clad suits and their families by their side, emotions ran high once NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced their names on stage. From that moment on, their dreams to play against the elite in the NBA have finally come to fruition.
The most talked about draft class since LeBron James entered the league in 2003 featured the versatile Duke Blue Devils superstar and National Player of the Year, Zion Williamson. Selected by the New Orleans Pelicans, the overall number one draft pick was moved to tears as his lifelong dream that he set since the age of four has realistically become surreal.
Then came a tender moment on national television when Williamson choked back tears as he thanked God and his mother, Sharonda Sampson, for her sacrifices and putting her dreams aside for his.
“How would I describe her? In a lot of words. Tough love,” said Williamson about his mother. “She would always be the first one to keep it real with me. She taught me growing up, and whenever I needed something, she would do everything in her power just to get it for me and my brothers. I don’t think a lot of people are fortunate enough to be in that kind of situation, so I just thank God that I got a mother like I did.”
Aside from tears, the 18-year old from South Carolina was all smiles in his all-white ensemble, which paid homage to James. Williamson looks forward to becoming the face of the Pelicans franchise after the organization traded up six-time All-Star, Anthony Davis, the overall number one pick in 2012 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I see myself trying to step into a leadership role,” Williamson added. “When I think about doing that, I have to also understand my teammates and understand where their heads are at because if you’re not on the same page, things don’t usually go well. I think it’s a matter of us coming together, making the same goals and just willing to win. And I think we can do something special.”
Tears had a domino effect moving onward. The second draft pick, point guard Ja Morant, selected by the Memphis Grizzlies, shared a moment with his father, who described him as his worst critic. Morant, who played for the Murray State Racers, a mid-level NCAA Division I school in Kentucky, aspires to follow a lineage of players of NBA stars like Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry, C.J. Maccallum, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, to name a few, who also played for mid-major Division I college basketball schools.
“Like Dame, C.J., Curry, Siakam, VanVleet, we can go down the line of mid-major players who made a name for themselves in this league,” said Morant. “I feel like guys who opened the door for me, it’s only right that I go in, try and do what those guys did, make a name and keep the doors open for other mid-major players. It just means a lot for them to look up to me.”
Williamson’s Blue Devils teammate, Canadian phenom, R.J. Barrett also showed raw emotions, crying on his father Rowan’s shoulder after being picked third by the New York Knicks. Barrett, whose godfather is two-time league MVP, Steve Nash, charmed the media by embracing his excitement of becoming a Knick to showing off his fluency in French, and being a proud Canadian.
“It’s amazing to be Canadian,” said Barrett, who grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. “We take a lot of pride. That’s why I’ve got my Canadian flags on this side of my jacket. To put it on for our country, that means a lot. My dad, man, is big. He’s big with Canada basketball. He’s big with me. He helps me through everything. So yeah, I love him.”
Some had their supportive parents at their side, while others only had memories. National champion, De’Andre Hunter of the Virginia Cavaliers, the fourth draft pick headed to the Atlanta Hawks, wore a necklace with a picture of his father who passed away when Hunter was in first grade. The Chicago Bulls draft pick, Coby White lost his father to liver cancer during his junior year of high school. The 20th pick, Matisse Thybulle, who was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers from the Boston Celtics, shed tears to ESPN’s Maria Taylor wishing his mother was alive to witness this momentous event. Oregon’s Bol Bol, drafted as the 44th pick by the Miami Heat then traded to the Denver Nuggets, is the son of former Philadelphia 76ers center, Manute, who passed away when Bol was nine.
Complementing the tears and excitement came the number of international players drafted this year. Canada set a record of six players drafted. Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Rui Hachimura, selected ninth by the Washington Wizards, became the first Japanese player drafted into the NBA. A total of 16 international players were selected, eight coming from the league’s Basketball Without Borders program.
This draft is a simple reminder of how parents’ hard work and sacrifices will eventually allow them to live vicariously through the achievements of their children. It is a lesson for all parents and children to learn from — to always be supportive, grateful, and to go beyond one’s wildest dreams to achieve happiness and higher success in something one is passionate about.
(Eagle News Service)