Jimmy V will take his rightful place in the Basketball Hall of Fame this summer, elected by the Contribution Committee for the impact he’s had on basketball, and for what he accomplished off the court.
His work in basketball will be recognized, but his biggest legacy, by far, is the V Foundation, which has for decades raised money for essential cancer research. If only he could have guessed, when he was making that speech at the ESPYs announcing the establishment of that foundation, how much it would mean to so many people.
So this guy with whom I shared a bedroom when I was little, who taught me to sing SWINGIN' ON A STAR when I was 5, who made me cry with laughter.