NBA Play-Off Dad’s stealing the show!

“Having the “right” people willing to vouch for you prior to an interview, can make or break in your opportunity to land the job/position that you’re looking for”

Unscripted
By Keith Edmonds
Ink Spot Contributing Writer

The 2022 NBA play-offs have started and though many are in mourning because for the first time in the past 15 years there’s NO Lebron James in this version of the “Quest for the NBA crown!” As hard as this may be to believe, many thought that because of Lebron and the Lakers missing the play-offs, die-hard fans and media would be disinterested in attending and even watching as there was no “marquee” name to attract our interests. But wait… just when you thought that things would be boring and blah, blah, blah… here comes Tee Morant and Karl Anthony Towns Sr. to spice things up! Now you may be asking “who are these guys, and what do they have to do with making the play-offs interesting again?” Let me share this with you…

Tee Morant is the father of NBA star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Karl Anthony Towns Sr. is the father of NBA star Karl Anthony Towns (aka KAT) of the Minnesota T-Wolves. As their son’s teams competed for the NBA crown their dads can be seen sitting courtside TOGETHER sharing many laughs and friendly banter. So much so that the NBA gave them tickets near CENTER COURT in Minneapolis, right in the middle of the action! I for one, am enjoying seeing this as there is obviously pressure on each of their sons as the “face” of their particular franchise but genuinely friendly competition between their fathers in the most respectful manner. During the games, it was revealed that the two fathers have a wager on the series' outcome. What was the wager you ask? Now surely you would think that each of these men would place the stakes high as both of their sons are multi-millionaires and certainly capable of rewarding the winner with “riches untold” but this was not the case. The losing dad must WEAR the jersey of the winning son. Now how refreshing is that? Minnesota evened the series at 2 games apiece with their last win on April 24th, 2022, and though the series will have been completed by the time this story goes to publication, what I wanted to do in todays UNSCRIPTED is share how important it is to be a supportive parent and keep things in perspective as you go about supporting your children even at the professional level.

Here we have two fathers who became friends because they’re part of an organization for fathers and men of professional basketball, according to Towns. Two fathers who feel “it’s important to be in our kids’ lives,” Tee Morant explained. Two fathers who look like they’re having a whole lot of fun because their children are NBA All-Stars. Two fathers who have spent these play-offs trying to get the last laugh at each other’s expense and they’re doing it the RIGHT way, and I love it!

As I watch these 2 men on national television, it was great to see them supporting Each OTHERS son as well! I watch the games on NBA TV or TNT just to see these men show their appreciation for one another’s talented son in the most respectful and amiable way which is how it is SUPPOSED to be! From my vantage point with the things that I see in terms of parental support and the competitive nature of athletics as it is today, I’ll take this type of support and trash talk any day, ANY day!

Parental support is important to a child’s success and even though these 2 well-established NBA stars have what seems to us “everything you could ask for” in terms of money, fame, public recognition, and success, the best thing that I see in both of them are the intrinsic values that have been instilled in them and they bring to the game. Karl Anthony Towns lost his mother to COVID a season ago and has been carrying a heavy burden on his heart that he rarely speaks about but cherishes the way his parents have guided his career. On the other hand, Ja Morant recently won the NBA Most Improved Player award which is an award voted on by the media and coaches which honors a player’s season improvement from one year to the next. What I found very interesting is that he promptly gave this prestigious award to a teammate whom he felt was more deserving. Both are very active in the communities associated with their teams and are very outspoken in their comments regarding league and team issues they are a part of.

These things are not spoken enough about, in the media and I would like to promote this in every platform that I’m given. We need more Tee Morant’s and Karl Anthony Towns Sr. in our vantage points to see that there are more parents that are trying to do things the “right” way than there are not.