In a heartwarming surprise on Tuesday morning, Good Morning America presented Crispus Attucks High School basketball coach Chris Hawkins with two tickets to Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
GMA’s Ike Ejiochi flew to Indy to deliver the exciting news as part of their "Side Lines Heroes" segment.
Coach Hawkins, a three-time Indianapolis Coach of the Year and an alumnus of the historic school, has guided his teams to several state conference championships. He reflected on the legends who walked the same halls, including Oscar Robertson and Ray Crowe.
Principal Lauren Franklin was also there to honor Hawkins.
"When I first hired Coach Hawkins he said he was going to win a state title and bring glory back to the high school, and he's done exactly that," she said on GMA. "So again, very proud. I have a lot of great team members at Crispus Attucks, but Coach Hawkins is an invaluable member of our team."
Adding to the excitement, Pacers player Myles Turner delivered a special message via video, and presented a special surpise.
"Hi Coach Hawkins, I hear you're not only an incredible basketball coach but a huge Indiana Pacers fan. Since you've had such an impact at Crispus Attucks High School, I want to give you two tickets to the Thunder-Pacers game." Turner also gifted Hawkins a Myles Turner jersey and an NBA Finals hat.
“Pacers have a great shot at winning the NBA title, so I'm just extremely excited, extremely thankful for them picking me for this honor, and yeah, I'm still kind of just shocked,” Hawkins told WRTV.
Pacers take on the Thunder at Gainbrige Fieldhouse for Game 3 of the NBA finals with a tied series of 1-1. The game will be aired on WRTV.
