Behind every Celtics player is a village: parents who put everything aside to make their kids’ dreams a reality, college coaches who worked tirelessly to ensure their players believed in themselves, medical staff who helped them overcome injuries, and the list goes on and on.
For International Women’s Month, I spoke to the mothers of five players to get their perspective on their sons’ unlikely journeys to the NBA. Several got choked up as they remembered the toughest moments. Their voices filled with pride as they recalled the happiest.
I say these journeys were unlikely because only 1% of high school varsity basketball players go on to play Division I college basketball, and only 1% of those DI athletes make it to the NBA, let alone stay in the league.