By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
ABU DHABI — Fenerbahce Beko superstar Nigel Hayes-Davis was naturally delighted to finally win the EuroLeague championship – and be named Final Four MVP.
What made him ecstatic though was the joy this success brought to people around him.
“I’m not as emotional as I thought I’d be,” Hayes-Davis said. “I’ve been saying that this whole time in random interviews. I played out of my mind so may times that I’ve numbed myself to how it feels. I don’t want that to be arrogant or anything. I don’t want to it to sound like I’m ungrateful or unhappy. I’m more happy for everybody else. Looking around at all my teammates, my staff. Everyone’s crying. My mom is crying and I’m like “mom stop crying, we won.”
Right after the game finale, Hayes-Davis rushed toward the stands to greet his mother Talaya Davis and his stepfather: Albert Davis.
“Greatest man I’ve ever met,” said Hayes-Davis. “He married my mother when we were young. I added my last name for him. He saw me the blueprint for being a great man, a provider, a great husband. He took care of four children as if they were his own. I will love him dearly, deeply. Tremendous man.”