Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward lives out NBA dream, with Olympic grandfather along for the ride

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As the lights dimmed at FedExForum ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies’ first preseason game, taking in the moment was the grandfather of Grizzlies top pick Cedric Coward, the first person to put a basketball in his hands at the age of two.

“Try to teach him as much as I could in terms of things of trying to look out for as he developed, and how to stay focused on his purpose and goal.”

For Maxie Parks, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when Coward was taken 11th overall by the Grizzlies in this year’s NBA Draft.

” He’s just at the beginning of his journey. Don’t expect him to blow the world off right now, but over time, they’ll see how good he really is,” said Parks.

Parks knows a thing or two about achieving a lifelong dream; he was a member of the U.S. Men’s 4 x 400 relay team that won gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. That same championship mentality is what he passed down to his grandson.

” I said, you can do it, but it ain’t going to be easy. I said it takes a lot of work, that takes dedication and commitment to be able to stay the course. Don’t get distracted. Don’t lose focus, which is the same thing I had to do. I had many people tell me, Oh, you’re pipe dreaming, you’ll be an Olympian coming from Fresno, how could you ever think that?”, said Parks.

 So nothing in the world was going to keep Parks from being courtside for his grandson’s NBA preseason debut.

” Sweeter than sugar, sweeter than candy cane. You know, that is so overwhelming gratitude and me being able to experience this with him, share with him being here at his first be it preseason, to be able to enjoy that with him is sweeter than anything I could imagine,” said Parks.

“We’ve been talking about this since I was seven, eight years old upstairs watching games with him. You know, we weren’t watching the grizzly, but that’s OK, but we were watching games with him being in that moment,” said Coward.

A dream fulfilled, but the moment wasn’t entirely complete, absent was Maxie’s wife and Cedric’s grandmother, Lovern, who passed away two months ago.

“On August 19th that I lost the person who was with me for 52 years. 359 days. She and I plan to be here together,” said Parks.

” Unfortunately, my grandmother’s not here, but I know she’s watching and she’s with me on the court, while I go through those moments myself, so it’s everything for him, but it’s everything for me,” said Coward.

” To lose her, it’s been a real hard blow, so I’m sharing this moment for the both of them, not just for myself but the both of us, and her spirit is always inside of me and with me, so I know she would be happy and smiling in this moment in time as well,” said Parks.

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