76ers honor special needs teen with contract, game intro
A viral video of a special needs high school basketball team manager sinking a handful of three-pointers for his basketball team last weekend not only caught the eyes of many on the internet, but also those of the Philadelphia 76ers, who decided to sign him to a two-day contract Monday and Tuesday.
Kevin Grow, 18, was born with Down syndrome and has been the manager of the Bensalem High School boys basketball team in Pennsylvania for the last four years. But until last week, Grow hadn’t seen any game action until head coach John Mullin called him up late in the game on Senior Night.
Grow entered the game as a point guard and scored three points. The following night, Grow also entered late in the game, and with just two minutes remaining, made four three-pointers to help Bensalem win 64-40 over Neshaminy High School.
And that’s when people starting taking notice.
NBA.com reported that after the video was seen by 76ers President and General Manager Sam Hinkie, Grow had no idea he would shortly be offered a two-day contract with the team.
Grow joined up with the 76ers on Monday and signed his official contract. The 76ers provided Grow with a practice jersey, and then he ate a pre-practice meal with the team and participated in his first practice that included drills with the 76ers coaching staff.
Tuesday saw Grow make his 76ers debut. He was given his own team locker, a custom uniform, warmup gear and sneakers before he ran out with the team and stood on the court with the starting lineup to be introduced to the fans.
“By far, Kevin’s favorite team is the Sixers, and he was so excited just to be able to come down here and see practice,” said his sister Laura told NBA.com. “But to be a part of the team, and when we got downstairs to see all the media there, it was even more of a surprise. This whole thing’s just taken a mind of its own, and it’s just such a neat experience.”
The 76ers posted Grow’s journey from its Twitter account from the moment he signed his contract till he ended his two-day contract with the team.
