When Skal Labissière entered last month’s NBA Draft, uncertainty surrounded him. After a tumultuous freshman year at Kentucky—he had entered the season as one of the top recruits in the country, even ranking ahead of Ben Simmons on some lists—his stock had plummeted.
One thing NBA teams did know for sure was that Labissière had overcome huge adversity in his life to get to where he is today.
Labissière was 13 when earthquakes rocked his home country of Haiti, and he recounted the experience in a VICE article published today.
When the earthquake struck, a wall collapsed on Labissière’s back "and forced him into a crouch that would make his legs go numb for weeks.” In complete pitch black, he couldn’t move at all, and he tried screaming.
"After 30 minutes or so, I just physically gave up," he told VICE.
Labissière had lost faith that anyone would survive.
"That's when my dad came on top of the rubble and yelled my mom's name out," Labissière said. "[It] definitely opens your eyes about life. Before that, me and my little brother complained about things that we didn't have. After that experience, we were way more thankful for life. You see how quickly things can change, whether it's from good to bad or bad to good."
The Sacramento Kings scooped Labissière at No. 28 in the NBA draft. He was expected to be a surefire top-five pick entering this year, but had an up-and-down year at Kentucky (he averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game). He did have some highs, though; in his second game, he totaled 26 points and five boards.
The Kings have a plethora of big men on their roster, so don’t expect Skal to make an immediate impact, but that could be the best possible situation for him. Give him some time to develop (remember, he’s still only 20) and let’s hope he starts growing into his potential.
Regardless of how his career plays out, you can’t help but admire his personal resolve and hope for a redemptive story.
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