Illustrations by Robert Bruno
In the grand scheme of things it was a forgettable scene played out before a forgettable game. Symbolically, though, it was a moment of significance. On Jan. 14, 2017, long before tip-off between the Wizards and 76ers, Washington hosted a short ceremony on the corner of the Verizon Center floor. As fans filed in, a strikingly large man—wearing a crisp black golf shirt, glasses and a full beard, smile splashed across his face—stepped up and accepted the Wizards Care Community Assist Award, for what a press release called “his exemplary level of dedication and commitment to the community.