Gordon Hayward speaking with Matt Lauer of NBC (Photo Screen Grab: NBC TODAY/YouTube)
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward opened up for the first time on Wednesday about the gruesome injury he suffered to his ankle against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening minutes of the NBA season.
Speaking to Matt Lauer of NBC, Hayward talked about the moments after the injury, and became emotional in sharing about his parents seeing him for the first time at the arena that evening after breaking his ankle.
“I wouldn’t want Bernie or Charlie (his kids) to go through that,” Hayward emotionally said to Lauer. “I remember seeing my mom. She’s crying. It’s tough to see your parents cry because it makes you emotional.”
Immediately after suffering the injury, Hayward told Lauer that a phone call with his wife Robyn was a source of encouragement for him. “Robyn calls, and I’m talking to Robyn and she’s trying to support me and wish she was there and God doesn’t give you a challenge you can’t handle.”
Hayward also shared in a Facebook post on Wednesday in more detail the road he’s been on these past few weeks.
My wife Robyn had called, but I hadn’t talked to her yet. She was getting updates basically from right after it happened. Finally, they put her on the phone. She just kept saying, “I’m so sorry. I wish I could be there to help you. I wish I could take the pain away from you. What do you need me to do?” It’s going to be okay. God has a plan.”
Hayward went on to write in his Facebook post that surgery on his foot was a success and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Gordon and his wife Robyn are believers in Christ and cling to the promise God has made in his word in Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING GEORGE HILL
George Hill played 15 seasons in the NBA from 2008-2023 with the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers. He was drafted by San Antonio in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft (26th overall). During his long career, Hill was teammates with Tim Duncan, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Today on the podcast, Matt Forte talks to George Hill about his welcome-to-the-NBA moment, guarding Kobe Bryant, the culture of faith in the NBA, giving his life to Christ, and being baptized this past summer.
Tyler Lundblade (Photo courtesy of Belmont University)
THIS IS SPORTS SPECTRUM’S WHAT’S UP PODCAST
WITH ANNABELLE HASSELBECK
On today’s episode of Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast, we have Tyler Lundblade!
Tyler shares about the adversity he’s faced through college basketball, becoming the leading 3-point shooter in the nation, and how he has relied on the Lord through it all!
Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton brings the ball up the court, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
The past week has been a historic one for the Golden State Valkyries. On Friday, they beat the Chicago Sky, 90-59, breaking the WNBA record for wins by an expansion team with 18. They also set a franchise record for largest margin of victory.
Two days earlier, guard Veronica Burton produced the best performance in Golden State’s short existence. She recorded the first 30-point game in Valkyries history (and her pro career) and became just the third WNBA player ever to score 30 points, pull down seven rebounds, and dish out seven assists while shooting 75% from the field. The other two players to accomplish the feat are presumptive MVP Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty superstar Sabrina Ionescu.
Burton is in the midst of a breakout season that made her ESPN’s current choice for Most Improved Player. She is averaging more points per game (11.3) than she did in her three previous seasons combined, while more than doubling her career-bests in assists (5.1) and rebounds (4.3). Of the five players averaging more than 10 points, at least five assists and more than four rebounds this season, Burton is the only one who wasn’t named an All-Star.
Drafted seventh overall by the Dallas Wings as a defensive specialist in 2022, Burton averaged 2.5 points and made 76 appearances in two years with the team. Dallas waived her right before the 2024 season began.
In one of her lowest moments, Burton turned to the two things that have helped guide her throughout her life: family and faith. Her dad, Steve, walked into her room shortly after she was waived and found her reading her Bible. He asked her how she was doing.
Burton soon learned that the Lord wanted her in Connecticut. She spent the rest of the season with the Sun and made the playoffs for a third year in a row.
Golden State then selected Burton with the third pick in the expansion draft this past offseason. She became a regular starter for the first time in her career and has the Valkyries in possession of a playoff spot with less than a month left in the regular season.
Coming from a family of accomplished athletes and broadcasters, Burton was taught to outwork her competition and give God the glory.
“When it comes down to it, basketball is talked about a lot in my life, family is talked about in my life, and school, but at the end of the day, the thing that I want to talk about most, the thing that is most important to me, is my faith,” she said during an appearance on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in 2023.
It was during Burton’s college career at Northwestern that she feels like she really took ownership of her relationship with God.
“I realized that the more I centered my life around faith and my relationship with the Lord, the more steady I found myself and the more at peace I found myself,” she said on the podcast. “That’s where I saw a shift in who I was and what I really prioritized.”
The 25-year-old knows she wouldn’t be in this position without God and wants to make sure He is the one who receives the praise.
“The one thing that I try and thank Him for every day is just the opportunities that He’s presented for me, because I’ve been able to experience a lot of great things, and things have worked out in my favor,” she said on the podcast. “And a lot of that has to do with Him and the grace that He has for me.”
The Valkyries (18-16) are the No. 7 seed heading into Tuesday’s meeting with the Phoenix Mercury (20-13). They are 1.5 games ahead of the Seattle Storm, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot.
Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston brings the ball up the court, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)
Sunday’s 102-83 victory over the Dallas Wings means the Indiana Fever are one win away from entering the WNBA’s All-Star or Olympic break with a winning record for the first time since 2012. With superstar Caitlin Clark missing almost half the season through injury, it has fallen on the team’s other All-Star starter, third-year center Aliyah Boston, to help make up for Clark’s absence.
Boston is third on the team in scoring (a career-high 16.2 points per game) and leads the Fever in field goal percentage (a career-best 58.3%), rebounding (7.9) and blocks (1.1). Boston, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and three-time MVP A’ja Wilson are the only three players averaging at least 16 points and more than 7.8 rebounds per game.
Born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Boston and her sister moved to Massachusetts to live with their aunt so they could further their academic and basketball careers. The Fever took Boston with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, following a stellar college career at the University of South Carolina.
Her accomplishments were honored Monday at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, where the Fever will face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday at TD Garden, home of the NBA’s Boston Celtics. Governor Maura Healey and City Councilor Brian Worrell declared it “Aliyah Boston Day” in the city of Boston. She was a three-time Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year while at Worcester Academy, an hour west of Boston, becoming a five-star recruit before joining South Carolina.
“Don’t let anyone determine your worth or let anyone tell you what you can or can’t be in life because you’re more than that and everyone’s path is different,” Boston said during a ceremony. “So don’t compare your path to the person to your left or the person to your right, because it’s never going to be the same. So just embrace your journey and do the best that you can and dream big.”
“Born in Saint Thomas, raised with deep roots in the Caribbean, she came to Massachusetts with a dream and work ethic that wouldn’t quit and a purpose bigger than basketball.”
yesterday, the City of Boston proclaimed July 14, 2025 as “Aliyah Boston Day” at the Massachusetts… pic.twitter.com/uiaTVR8ngN
Following Tuesday’s game, the Fever will face the Liberty in New York on Wednesday, then Boston will return to Indianapolis to play in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday. She was the third-leading All-Star vote-getter behind Clark and Collier and was Clark’s first pick in the All-Star draft. It is Boston’s third All-Star selection in as many years and her second time being voted a starter.
This one carries an added significance with Indianapolis hosting the game. Boston and Clark have become the cornerstones of Indiana’s rebuilding effort that led to the franchise’s first playoff appearance in eight years last season.
“I had that dream on my heart, and I feel like that’s why I’m in the position that I am now, because I trusted God’s plan for me but also, I put in the work,” Boston said in a WNBA video last year. “There’s just so many opportunities and doors I’ve been blessed to walk through.”
Boston’s confidence on the court comes from the trust she has in the Lord. She goes into every game knowing God has prepared her for whatever she is going to face.
“Before the starting lineups [are announced], I always take a moment and pray,” she said. “I always tell myself, like, ‘I’m equipped.’ God has prepared me for everything, and that just brings me peace because I know that whatever happens on the court, I’m ready for it.”
Though she is one of the WNBA’s most popular players, Boston wants to be known as a follower of God first and a basketball player second.
“I think we get confused sometimes that just because we play a sport and that’s what we do as our profession, that that’s just who we are,” she said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things for me, is just being able to see God through me. It’s my faith, it’s my family, that makes me me.”
The Fever-Sun game tips off on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, with the Indiana-New York game at 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on CBS Sports Network, and the All-Star Game at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC.
