LBS- Steph Curry spent some time consoling the nephew of Devin Harris prior to Monday’s Golden State Warriors-Dallas Mavericks game.
Harris, a veteran guard for the Mavs, lost his brother last week in a car accident. Harris on Monday made his first appearance at American Airlines Center since his brother died. He was accompanied by his nine-year-old nephew, Brayden, whose father died. The two visited with some players from both teams. Curry spent some time with the young boy, which was caught on camera. “I lost my brother tragically and it’s been a tough week,” Harris said to the media via the Dallas Morning News. “The family is taking it pretty hard, as you would expect them to. Probably the toughest thing I’ve had to deal with, dealing with myself, trying to explain it to his kids, my kids – it’s just been tough. “I came to spend some time with my nephew to try to get his mind off of it.” Harris has been granted an indefinite leave of absence as he copes with the tragic news. -------- To be honest, I initially felt uncomfortable watching this. Obviously I felt more comfortable once I gave it a second thought and remembered that everyone with both the internet and at least a passing interest in sports was also watching it, but still. This candid moment - that was exponentially more heart-wrenching than heartwarming (though it was admittedly both) - wasn’t meant to be for public consumption, and that’s why I’m glad that the conclusion of it came from within the privacy of the tunnel. It has become easy to give Steph Curry shit for shamelessly playing to the camera before going the “Who, me?!” route when questioned on it (See: popping a squat in the middle of the court during the NBA Finals). However, it’s even easier to see why he’s one of the more respected members of a league that he’s constantly disrespecting by way of overly celebrated jump shots. Taking a minute away from working on a creative new way to put the ball in the hoop - during a pregame in which this clip’s consoler usually puts on a show - to offer even a minute amount of compassion to a kid that recently lost his father may just be a small display of selflessness. However, it’s proof positive that Steph Curry is both a great person and keenly aware of how his popularity amongst the next generation of fans gives him a sense of purpose that’s bigger than just basketball. It sucks that we had to see a distraught child emotionally lean on someone who he probably considers a hero to put aside how insufferable said hero can be on the court and focus on all the good he does off of it. I’m starting to think that athletes are better off as nothing more than entertainers, but that’s only because it almost requires a tragedy that makes someone far worse off before we see them as more than that.
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