A Wish Fulfilled

Today was a good day. I felt good and, obviously, I was looking good. This morning, I got a call letting me know that I was on Esquire’s 2007 Best Dressed List. Next year, I’m going for the No. 1 spot (LOL).

But my day took a turn from good to great after I spent the afternoon with five kids through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Heading into these events, you never know what the mood’s going to be, but I always know they’re going to leave with a smile on their face. That’s my thing, I want to uplift their spirits. I want to show them that there’s much more in this world that they have to do. Following lunch, we played one-on-one and H-O-R-S-E, and then I got a chance to have a nice conversation with each of them. When I was their age, I had my sports heroes. I would have loved to have had a chance to play one-on-one or have a personal conversation with MJ. So after we finished shooting around, I pulled each one of them to the side to share some of my experiences and answer some of their questions. I shared my story about me being a young kid with big, big dreams. Nobody thought I would make it to where I am today. I’m here because I believed in myself, but I had a lot of help along the way.

Things got a little emotional for me when they presented me with a basketball signed by each of the Make-A-Wish kids. It was totally unexpected. I never expect anything, so when someone has enough in their heart to give you something, that’s what makes it special. That means a lot and it really touched my heart. The ball is going up in my house. It’s more than a basketball. It’s saying to me that they care about me just as much as I care about them.