Common sense dictates Derek Fisher could have taken his time to return to the Utah Jazz.
He had a daughter, sick with a life-threatening illness, and his employer is in the Western Conference Semifinals with the Golden State Warriors. Life makes NBA playoff basketball insignificant.
Fisher’s daughter made it through surgery just fine. His return for the second half of Game 2 is the stuff of sports legend. Sports writers feast on it. Fans go crazy. And the Jazz, already worn thin by an injury to Dee Brown, needed another point guard. What made Fisher stand out is his willingness to be an unofficial spokesman for the dangers of retinoblastoma, a potentially fatal form of eye cancer.
Fisher walked out of the tunnel leading to the court to a standing ovation. Fisher stopped briefly along the Utah bench until coach Jerry Sloan waved him in.
His numbers weren’t jaw-dropping, yet he gave the Jazz the extra oomph they needed in a Game 2 win and take a 2-0 lead in the series. He scored all five of his points in overtime – his lone field goal a three-pointer that sealed the 127-117 victory.
I’m admittedly rooting for the Golden State Warriors, and although I’m happy the Warriors pummeled the Jazz 125-105 Friday, I can’t help but root for Fisher, the underdog of all underdogs, who keeps plugging along despite adversity. Sunday was the latest example with Fisher scoring 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to give the Jazz a commanding 3-1 lead.
Fisher’s a smaller point guard by NBA standards, standing just an inch over six feet, but he makes up for it with his hustle and willingness to give up his body to make a play. He has been an equally well-spoken and reliable basketball player.
His latest adversity came when his daughter, Tatum, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma. She successfully underwent experimental surgery in New York and flew back with Fisher and his wife to Utah Wednesday.
Originally, Fisher kept his absence secret, until after Game 3 when he spoke out about the condition so he could bring attention to what is the most common form of eye cancer in children.
Three years ago, Fisher visited the Summer Pro League at Long Beach State and met Rudy Tomjanovich, then the new coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and himself a cancer survivor.
Fisher, a free agent following the 2003-04 season and about to earn the biggest contract of his career, could have focused on himself, but instead talked about Tomjanovich.
“I wanted to congratulate him and really let him know how happy I was for him to battle cancer and to now be back on the sideline … it says a lot about who he is as a man and a person,” Fisher said in my short interview with the respectable veteran. “He’s really excited about this opportunity and if things work out I look forward to working with him possibly.”
The Lakers consistently filled the sports section during the years of Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Fisher was always there, a calming presence, who bypassed the often me-first nature of NBA players, always supported the team and spoke freely when Bryant and O’Neal were split up.
“It’s been really, really crazy,” Fisher said at the time. “It’s unfortunate with everything we accomplished over the last several years, it’s unfortunate to have to take place the way that it has. The sports world has really taken a turn. You pick up the sports section and you really don’t know what you’re going to read.”
His honesty then makes his latest selfless endeavor just another example of the unselfishness Fisher has displayed in his 11-year career, both on the court and off.
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