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Happened By Chance |
Photo of Chance with his father, Marcus.
It had been years since 11-year-old Chance Adams and his father, Marcus Adams, attended an Atlanta Hawks game. They were fans but the trek from Augusta to Atlanta and other factors made it difficult for the pair to see the team. On Sunday, January 28, the Hawks were set to take on the Toronto Raptors for Kids Night. Marcus and Chance got tickets from Marcus’ uncle who wouldn’t be using them. They embarked on the 2.5-hour-long journey and ended up arriving much earlier than expected. While Marcus thought they would hang out around the concourse, Chance wanted to watch the players warm up so they went to their seats. What followed was a series of events that would turn a Sunday matinee game into the experience of a lifetime for Chance as well as his father.
Chance is a point guard on the Burke County youth basketball team and Marcus is his coach. When Chance’s mother passed away in 2017, Marcus got full custody of his son and a couple years later, Chance began playing basketball. So when he was able to assist one of his favorite players during his warmup and then the Hawks posted the video of it happening, Chance was on cloud nine.
Chance excitedly looked on as Hawks’ point guard Trae Young warmed up. His dad told him to get his phone out and take photos. Marcus figured they would try to get a little closer by heading to the bottom of the section. Arena security allowed them to as long as they weren’t in the aisle. Then something unexpected happened, event security Stephan saw the two and relayed to a colleague to tell the pair to stand courtside. Stunned, Marcus was all smiles and before he was able to look up from his phone, Trae threw Chance the ball and Chance threw it to the assistant coach Bryan Bailey, as Chance was still on the other side of the court. Trae motioned for Chance to get closer, actually on the court, to pass him the ball. Chance jogged towards the paint and threw the ball to Trae who was on the bench. As the ball ascended, Trae turned to assistant coach Ekpe Udoh while everyone watched the ball drop through the net. Trae laughed and posed, pointing to Chance who had rebounded the ball and was already throwing it back to Trae. Trae got up, hand extended and walked over to Chance to dap him up.
Chance tried to process what had just happened after he left the floor, “It was unbelievable. I ain’t know he was gonna throw me the ball.” His thoughts were going, “I was just going through my mind thinking, ‘I’m finna go post it, I’m finna go post it.’” And the reactions of Chance’s teammates? “They’re saying, ‘Let me get a touch of your hand.’”
Trae didn’t plan any of it and was surprised to find out Chance is also a point guard, “I wanted to do something cool and just threw him the ball. I knew he was watching the workout so I just wanted to do something, I didn’t know who he was but that’s pretty cool.”
The Hawks would go on to defeat the Raptors 126-125 and Trae finished with 30 points, 12 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Trae was already one of Chance’s favorite players, this more than solidified that for the 11-year-old.
If given the opportunity to say something to Trae, Chance would tell him “One day, I want to be like you.” Trae’s face when I relayed that message to him was one of humbled shock, “It means a lot ‘cause that’s how I was when I was a kid. I always looked up to the players, my favorite players and how they were, how they acted and what they did and things like that. So to have little kids do the same for me is like still surreal. I don’t ever take it for granted.”
Marcus couldn’t have asked for a better time at the Hawks game, “We was blessed to have those seats, blessed to be able to get on the court and [Chance] was able to give a pass to the person we came to see play.”
Chance is a point guard on the Burke County youth basketball team and Marcus is his coach. When Chance’s mother passed away in 2017, Marcus got full custody of his son and a couple years later, Chance began playing basketball. So when he was able to assist one of his favorite players during his warmup and then the Hawks posted the video of it happening, Chance was on cloud nine.
Chance excitedly looked on as Hawks’ point guard Trae Young warmed up. His dad told him to get his phone out and take photos. Marcus figured they would try to get a little closer by heading to the bottom of the section. Arena security allowed them to as long as they weren’t in the aisle. Then something unexpected happened, event security Stephan saw the two and relayed to a colleague to tell the pair to stand courtside. Stunned, Marcus was all smiles and before he was able to look up from his phone, Trae threw Chance the ball and Chance threw it to the assistant coach Bryan Bailey, as Chance was still on the other side of the court. Trae motioned for Chance to get closer, actually on the court, to pass him the ball. Chance jogged towards the paint and threw the ball to Trae who was on the bench. As the ball ascended, Trae turned to assistant coach Ekpe Udoh while everyone watched the ball drop through the net. Trae laughed and posed, pointing to Chance who had rebounded the ball and was already throwing it back to Trae. Trae got up, hand extended and walked over to Chance to dap him up.
Chance tried to process what had just happened after he left the floor, “It was unbelievable. I ain’t know he was gonna throw me the ball.” His thoughts were going, “I was just going through my mind thinking, ‘I’m finna go post it, I’m finna go post it.’” And the reactions of Chance’s teammates? “They’re saying, ‘Let me get a touch of your hand.’”
Trae didn’t plan any of it and was surprised to find out Chance is also a point guard, “I wanted to do something cool and just threw him the ball. I knew he was watching the workout so I just wanted to do something, I didn’t know who he was but that’s pretty cool.”
The Hawks would go on to defeat the Raptors 126-125 and Trae finished with 30 points, 12 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Trae was already one of Chance’s favorite players, this more than solidified that for the 11-year-old.
If given the opportunity to say something to Trae, Chance would tell him “One day, I want to be like you.” Trae’s face when I relayed that message to him was one of humbled shock, “It means a lot ‘cause that’s how I was when I was a kid. I always looked up to the players, my favorite players and how they were, how they acted and what they did and things like that. So to have little kids do the same for me is like still surreal. I don’t ever take it for granted.”
Marcus couldn’t have asked for a better time at the Hawks game, “We was blessed to have those seats, blessed to be able to get on the court and [Chance] was able to give a pass to the person we came to see play.”
Photo of Marcus and Chance at the Hawks game