When Marcus Smart heard the news, he was devastated.
No stranger to adversity, especially in the form of cancer, Smart now has to bear the weight of his mother, Camelia Smart, having been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.
"She's a fighter ... we're trying to see what can work right now ... She told me she'd rather I was here than back there, doing what I love to do, because she loves to watch me play, because that would put a smile on her face, if I got back healthy and back on the court .