Players from the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets joined arms in a show of support for Ukrainian-born Kings forward Alex Len before their game Thursday night.
The teams’ message was one of unity against war:
In addition to linking arms in solidarity, Kings coach Alvin Gentry made a point to honor Len and bring attention to his war-torn homeland during his pre-game press conference.
“Before we get started, I just wanted to say that we had a little meeting in the locker room, and obviously, Alex Len being from Ukraine and has family over there and relatives over there,” Gentry told the media. “And so I would just like for you guys to keep him in your prayers and hopefully his family is going to remain safe. So I think that’s very important. And he’s very important to us, not just as a player, but as a person. He’s a tremendous human being and we just want him to know we’re praying for his family.”
Len, along with fellow Ukrainian NBA player Svi Mykhailiuk, posted a joint statement to Twitter before the game calling for people to #StandWithUkraine:
Alvin Gentry told reporters that Len’s family in Ukraine was safe as far as he knew.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.