Somebody’s cutting onions.
NBA player Chris Silva was reunited with his mother this holiday season after not seeing her for 3 years, Blavity reports.
The Miami Heat forward moved to the states from Gabon to follow his dream of playing in the NBA. Currently he is undrafted but playing with the Heat under a two-way contract this season. As a result of his career pursuits, Silva has only seen his mother once in the last six years. The last time he saw her was in 2016 when he traveled back to his native home to renew his visa.
The league was aware of Silva’s situation and wanted to surprise him for the holidays and began planning his mother’s trip to the United States months prior. So many people worked together to pull of the surprise including commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA Africa program, and Kimberly Bohuny, senior vice president of international basketball operations.
The surprise finally came together towards the end of December. After Silva finished practice with the team, his mother, Carine Minkoue Obama walked onto the floor. Silva immediately got emotional. “That’s my mom,” he said in between sobs. After the emotional reunion Silva spoke to the press about the moment.
“I couldn’t believe who it was. I thought I was seeing a ghost. After I realized it was her, I couldn’t help myself. I was emotional. Jimmy Butler, a teammate of Silvas said, “That’s love right there. Family is everything and that will always be bigger than basketball. For his mom to be here is special. He has been away from her for so long and he’s working incredibly hard.”
Silva says he’s just thankful. “This is a great league. For them to do something like that for me means a great deal. It shows the heart of the people running the league and NBA Africa. I just thank them. I’m grateful for them doing this,” he said. The entire reunion was caught on video. You can check it out below.
Someone grab us a tissue. We hope Chris and his mother enjoyed the holiday season!
Photo Courtesy of Miami Heat/YouTube