Celtics head coach Brad Stevens missed Boston’s game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night because he took time to be with a former player fighting cancer, Fox 59 Indianapolis reports.
The former Butler coach was seeing his former Bulldogs player Andrew Smith who has been hospitalized with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Please pray. Pray so very hard. We need a miracle & Andrew asked me to have you all rally with us in prayer in this moment.
— Samantha Smith (@Samantha44Smith) January 6, 2016
Smith was on both of the Butler teams that Stevens took to the championship game in back to back years, and so it’s no mystery why the two share a close relationship. (RELATED: LeBron James Goes Extra Mile For Special Olympian [VIDEO])
ESPN host Scott Van Pelt confirmed the news during a late-night segment Thursday night, and eloquently summed up how many people feel about Stevens’ decision to take some time off to see his struggling former player.
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