New York Knicks’ Dennis Smith Jr. Visits Family of Slain Teenager in Dallas

Josh Martin, Nov 09, 2019
Posted in News, Starting Five

After spending nearly two weeks away to mourn the loss of his stepmother, Dennis Smith Jr. rejoined the New York Knicks just in time to lend a hand to another grieving family. Though he won’t play against the Dallas Mavericks—the team that selected him ninth overall in the 2017 NBA draft—at the American Airlines Center on Friday, the third-year guard was able to rekindle his connection with the family of Shavon Randle, a 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in the Dallas area in 2017.

Last December, before Dallas traded him to New York, Dennis surprised the Randle family with a holiday shopping spree.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Dennis spent time with the Randles on Thursday evening, after the Knicks arrived, and went back to the family on Friday morning to take Shavon’s brother and sister to school. Dennis then returned to the Knicks’ team hotel in time to board the bus to the Mavericks’ arena.

While Dennis works his way back into playing shape for New York, he’ll watch his teammates knowing full well that he still made an impact during this road trip.

 

Josh Martin is the Editorial Director of CloseUp360. He previously covered the NBA for Bleacher Report and USA Today Sports Media Group, and has written for Yahoo! Sports and Complex. He is also the co-host of the Hollywood Hoops podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.


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