Getty Zach LaVine dribbles the ball up the court during a February 3 game against the New York Knicks.
It’s been a career season for Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. So it was little surprise to NBA fans when the 25-year old was named to the 2021 NBA All-Star roster on Tuesday night.
But that wasn’t the real shock of the day for LaVine, no, the real surprise would come later on.
Chicago’s top talent was told by the team that he had one last Zoom press conference for the day with some West Coast reporters before calling it a night. So LaVine sat down and prepared to answer the same questions he’d been answering for hours, and turned his camera on.
You can watch what happened next:
LaVine clearly wasn’t expecting to hear from a number of family and friends, or teammate Thaddeus Young, and especially not former Chicago Bulls guard Jamal Crawford. Clearly touched by the gesture, he promised them all that this is just the beginning, and to not stop here, but keep moving forward:
Appreciate y’all being on here. You know, obviously with everything we’ve gone through and…you know how much of a family guy I am. So, I’m not going to stop. I’m going to continue to try to make you guys proud. I appreciate y’all always helping me.
It’s safe to say he deserved the private, special moment of recognition by both the team and those closest to him. And more importantly, he deserves to be an All-Star.
LaVine is the NBA’s seventh-leading scorer this season behind a career-high 28.6 points per game average and is quickly climbing his way into the best of the best in terms of guards.
He’s got the Chicago Bulls (14-16) back in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt, now four years removed from their last appearance in the postseason.
Should he continue putting in the work he always has, fueled by those we saw in the heartwarming video, it’s likely we’ll see him earn the All-Star nod a few more times throughout his career.
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