Blake Ahearn’s parents watched patiently at home, catching glimpses of their son in Spurs warmups at the end of the bench in November 2008.
Ahearn recently arrived from Bismarck, North Dakota, where he had been playing for the NBA G League’s Dakota Wizards. He couldn’t say for sure whether he’d enter the game for the Silver & Black.
But with the game in hand, television cameras caught Tim Duncan approaching Gregg Popovich, asking coach to put the new guy in.
“Tim and Pop won’t remember that moment, but that was everything for me and my family,” Ahearn said.