Most fans in the American Airlines Center were cheering for the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, but one suite, and one family in particular, was hoping to see Utah Jazz player Gordon Hayward and his team be successful. In suite 1216, Sloan Creek student Samantha Hayward was with her family, watching her 23-year-old cousin play in the NBA.
“It is weird seeing him because now you know he is actually a superstar,” Samantha said. “But he is also your cousin, and you don’t want to be awkward around him. We usually go [to Mavs games] when he comes here. We get two free tickets from him, and then if he can get us more, he does, or if not we just buy the rest ourselves.”
Gordon has played on the Utah Jazz for three seasons, since he was the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. After taking his high school team, Brownsburg, to the Indiana 4A state championship and earning the title with a game-winning layup at the buzzer, he played for two years at Butler University in Indianapolis before being drafted. He carried Butler to the Final Four in 2010, and played 72 games in his first season with the Jazz.
Although his basketball career is impressive, the sport was not always his focus. In fact, as a 5’11” freshman in high school, he almost quit basketball to pursue a career in tennis.
“I was probably better at tennis than I was at basketball, just because I had a late growth spurt,” Gordon said. “I wanted to play a sport in college and basketball didn’t seem realistic, so I almost quit.”
His senior year in high school, he had a 26-3 record in tennis singles, and made it to the state tournament.
“He played tennis for as long as I remember,” Samantha said. “My dad and his brother played when they were growing up, and then him and his sister both played when they were growing up, and we did too. I remember everyone saying ‘Oh, he’s gonna play basketball.’ and then he won the championship in high school, so things just kind of happened from there. [His basketball career] really kind of surprised all of us.”
Hayward found different reasons to love both sports. While basketball is a team-centered game, tennis focuses on the individual, an aspect that Hayward appreciated.
“That’s probably one of the reasons that I loved tennis so much,” he said. “It’s all individual, it’s all on you whether you win or lose. The blame could only go on you, and I really relished that. Basketball, on the other hand, is a team sport, with individual portions in it. You’ve got to love the team aspect, but at the same time there are moments where the individual can shine, so it’s got a little bit of both.”
Both Samantha and her younger brothers, Drew and Nolan, also play tennis. Gordon enjoys watching his cousins play a sport he loves.
“It is cool to see them play,” Gordon said. “They come to Indianapolis during the summers and they play at the same place where I used to play, and it’s cool watching them grow up. Tennis is a sport where you see the progression as they get older and better and learn all the skills. It’s fun watching them.”
Traveling with the Jazz for more than half the year, Hayward does not get to spend much time with his family, but whenever he plays in the Dallas area he takes advantage of the opportunity to see his cousins and the rest of his family.
“I was able to see them yesterday, and today,” Gordon said. “Anytime I come to the Texas region it’s really cool to get to see those guys, because I don’t get to that often, especially since we travel all the time, even during the summer. They grow up fast, so it’s good to see them.”
Gordon Hayward is an up and coming star for the Jazz – averaging 14.3 points a game this season, the third highest on a team that is a serious contender for the playoffs. But while he is a rising star on the court, he is still just a cousin to Samantha and her siblings.
“He is still the same person he was before,” she said. “I feel like I can talk to him about everything.”
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