LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne center Adreian Payne's life was changed in college when he met Lacey Holsworth, an 8-year-old girl with cancer, who would become like a sister to him.
Adreian Payne, ASVEL: 'I am proud I was able to help somebody'
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne center Adreian Payne grew up loving and playing basketball. After winning a state championship in high school, he played college basketball at Michigan State University starting in 2010. With the Spartans, Payne developed as a player from season to season, building the foundation that would make him a force in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. He also built relationships that helped make him the man he is today.
On a 2011 visit to a local hospital to comfort sick children and spend some time with them, Payne met Lacey Holsworth, an 8-year-old girl who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of nerve cancer. Things would never be the same for Payne.
"She wanted to talk, she enjoyed my company and she lit up when we talked."
"She was in there laying down and her parents told us her story," Payne recounted. "She liked to dance and I played basketball. We had that in common because when I grew up loving basketball, she loved the dance. She had cancer and that was taken away from her, what she enjoyed doing, her joy. I heard her story but we could not stay in the room because she was so weak because of the chemo. Fortunately, she chose me to stay."
Payne spent some more time with Lacey and her family that day and a bond was forged. Before Lacey began her rehabilitation treatment, she reached out to Payne and he was happy to help.
"I offered to the family to come to the games," he said. "She wanted to talk, she enjoyed my company and she lit up when we talked."
Little by little, 'Princess Lacey' and Payne became great friends and were in touch most of the time.
"She would text me and we would have little conversations," Payne explained. "I tried to keep her spirits up. It worked out for a while. I also got to meet her brothers. She was happy, I was happy, she came to the games... She was always so happy when she saw me. She started calling me 'Superman'."
The relationship went on for a couple of years and then it became a national story. Many media outlets told their story and both Lacey and Payne became famous for their friendship.
"She sat courtside and I got her involved her with one of my dunks and the crowd loved it."
"It was really big. They went out to New York, people flew them out... Dick Vitale had a gala and while I was in college, me and my coaches were flown there in his private jet," said Payne. "I also went to the senior dunk contest and invited her to come. She sat courtside and I got her involved her with one of my dunks and the crowd loved it. It was a good experience, I enjoyed it and I think she enjoyed it, too... I am just thankful that I was able to shed some light on someone that needed help."
Not long after that, Lacey's parents learned that she had entered the final stages of her illness and sadly, she passed away on April 8, 2014. The news spread fast across the country. Payne had lost his "Lil' Sis'" as he liked to call her and he even performed a 'dunk of silence' in her honor on the court.
"It was something that I look back on and I am proud I was able to help somebody," Payne said. "Help her and her family get through some tough times even if her parents told me they knew she was going to pass... She just wanted to live through it not thinking much about it, so I was able to give her some experiences in such a short amount of time that other kids do not get to experience in a lifetime."
To sum up their relationship in one line, Payne said: "I just wanted to help a little girl through hard times."
After Lacey died, time passed and Payne lost contact with her family. He went on to pursue a professional basketball career, which he had always wanted. He's played for many teams and many countries outside of the United States and has always kept the experience in his memory. Payne believes that it has helped him appreciate life more and, most of all, be grateful for what he gets to do.