INDIANAPOLIS— Nate Heichelbech is flipping through old photos.
“This is when they did the Sideline Soldiers and he took the pictures with them,” said Hiechelbech.
That was in January of 2020. His wife, Jamie, had the chance to meet her favorite Pacers player, T.J. McConnell.
“It was funny because McConnell had been with [The Pacers] a couple years, and she was like, 'That’s the shortest scrappiest guy on the team.' And that was her. She was 4’11 and she was like, 'I love him,'” said Heichelbech.
Jamie served 18 years in the Air Force. At the time she met McConnell, she was battling cancer.
“She kind of nudged me and said, 'I told you he was short,' and she gave him some stuff about it and they shared a laugh,” said Heichelbech.
Jamie passed a year later. For her family, that moment was about more than just meeting McConnell.
“She was always talking about that, and it meant something to her. It didn’t have to do with being on the court or playing basketball; it meant something to her that he cared, and he had no clue what she was going through,” said Heichelbech.
It’s the same way 12-year-old Darnell Moore feels about Andrew Nembhard.
“Look alike,” said Moore. “Every time we see each other, we call each other 'fam, brothers.'”
“It’s such a personal connection because these are NBA players. They’re not just regular people, but it makes it feel like a family,” said Stephanie Burton, Darnell’s mom.
Moore and Burton have experienced a lot when it comes to Pacers basketball. There was the trip to Paris, Las Vegas, and even New York for the Eastern Conference Finals. Or the time Moore played knock-out with Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell.
“It was amazing. I was trying to get most of the NBA players out, but also try to stay away from them so they didn’t get me out, but T.J. McConnell caught up to me and got me out,” said Moore.
It’s these personal moments that make them great role models for future generations.
“I would never want my son to idolize anybody, to be himself, but I think this group of guys is such a good, wholesome and genuine group of people that I would love for my son to turn out to be like,” said Burton.
The Pacers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at home in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, June 11, at 8:30 p.m. You can catch all of the NBA Finals on WRTV.
