Grant Hill
...career. As time progressed, he just kept getting better and better, his potential seemed limitless, becoming the Piston¡¦s main man, their go-to guy, their franchise player. He was able to lead his team to three playoff appearances in his first five years as a professional. Please bear with me, I know everything I said up to this point is fairly boring¡Kit¡¦s mostly statistical, but work with me here, I just have to build up to the climax¡KI can¡¦t simply dive in and sacrifice you not getting my point or more importantly, how astonishing a player Grant Hill is. ƒº Anyway, going back to the topic at hand¡K where was I??? Early into Grant Hill¡¦s NBA career, everything was working out perfectly. He was famous, he was the key player in his team and he was growing- as a person, as a leader and most importantly as a player. Nothing was going wrong, everything was sunny and bright - nothing bleak and dreary seemed to be heading his way¡K That was until the 99-00 season, his fifth NBA year. Late into the season, Grant Hill¡¦s left ankle began swelling. The team doctors reassured him though, telling him not to worry, and just keep on playing because it was just a simple bone bruise that would go away in no time¡K But as the season moved into the playoffs, the swelling and pain still persisted¡KHill chose to ignore it nonetheless because it was the playoffs- he wanted to be there for his team, he wanted to win, he wanted to play. I mean, it¡¦s playoff time!!! Playoff time is a whole new level¡K It¡¦s when the real ¡§ballers¡¨ come out and play¡KIt¡¦s where the line between boys and men is drawn, it¡¦s when the cowards are thrashed aside and those with enormous hearts for the game come out and give it their all. And of course, Grant Hill, being a MAN and possessing a lot of HEART, stepped up to the plate. He set aside the pain, he played through it. It was by ¡§playing through it¡¨ that started the snowball rolling¡K and everything went downhill from there. The forecast of sunny and bright weather was completely eradicated. After three games of playing through the pain, Hill¡¦s ankle got worse and the hurt became quite unbearable. Doctors were then alarmed of the situation and made him undergo some tests to determine what was going on¡K X-rays showed the severity of the situation. Doctors found a bone fracture in Hill¡¦s left ankle and his hopes of playing in the playoffs were completely crushed¡K In the summer, Hill went under the knife for the first time to repair his left ankle¡¦s inner bone (medial malteolus). Surgeons inserted a 3-hole plate and 5 screws to fix it. He was then traded to the Orlando Magic before the start of the 00-01 season. The Orlando Magic was a struggling team. They acquired Hill in the hopes of building the team around him when his ankle totally healed¡K. Hill went through rehabilitation during the summer to get ready for coming season. He was excited and anxious to return to the game he loved so much¡K When his doctors declared him fit to play, the excitement in the team¡¦s and his eyes could not be denied¡Kit looked as if everything was settling back into its place- his ankle had healed and he could play and provide the Magic with the boost they desperately needed¡K But no, the happy ending is not found here¡Kafter his first surgery, for four seasons in a Magic uniform, Hill only suited up for a total of 47 games because of his recurring ankle injury. Nothing was going right¡K every single time his hopes were sparked, they¡¦d be killed after a few games- injury, surgery, rehab, and the thought of not playing were the culprit¡KIn his four seasons in Orlando, all that he went through was the reciprocal of his early success: he had 4 more left-ankle surgeries and spent thousands of hours in rehab doing water aerobics alongside senior citizens; he had to live with the clamor of Orlando fans that he abandon his comeback so that the Magic could find someone new¡K But it¡¦s amazing¡K after having his hopes of playing basketball crushed so many times, why didn¡¦t he call it quits??? He already millions in the bank, a beautiful wife and daughter, the beginnings of several post-basketball car...