He told his family he'd get them to the NBA. The Warriors helped him keep that promise

SAN FRANCISCO — During the 44 days Shama’ar Jefferson’s family waited for him to say something back, basketball broadcasts were often the only sounds in his hospital room. His parents figured that if anything could wake Shama’ar from his coma, it was the squeak of sneakers on hardwood.So last spring, Brandon and Shaquela Cornwell kept the TV in an intensive care unit tuned to hoops as the middle-schooler’s wordless days rolled along through March Madness and into the NBA playoffs. The 13-year-old had not spoken since collapsing at a youth basketball game after taking a charge from an opponent and falling to the floor. The play didn’t look like much. Certainly, no one would have guessed a ruptured blood vessel had caused his brain to bleed.Advertisement