After a brutal season and the lasting heartbreak of losing their hero turned enemy LeBron James, who's still competing for a title with the Heat in South Beach, the Cleveland Cavaliers had a thrilling moment at the NBA Lottery last night when they landed the number one pick in the 2011 draft.
That moment was made even better when Nick Gilbert, the bespectacled, bow-tie-wearing 14-year-old son of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert joined representatives from the three final lottery winner candidates and stood with them shoulder to shoulder to head onstage. Nick, who looks a lot like fan favorite Squints from "The Sandlot," suffers from a rare nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body without warning. Of course that doesn't define him, but it's cool to see a teen who's overcome such adversity experience a thrill like this.
Nick kept his cool, but when the Cavs won the first pick, he was overcome with joy and threw his arms up. "It's sort of Nick fashion," Dan Gilbert said about the way Nick handled the moment. "I'm proud of the way he carried himself and I am very excited for the fans of Cleveland, Ohio, who have been through a very, very rough year."
Maybe now Cavs fans still struggling with the sting from "The Decision" can officially move on.
