Maurice Cheeks, while coaching the Portland Trail Blazers in 2003, supported a 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert struggling to sing the national anthem. Recently, she returned to the team to sing again, where Cheeks, now an assistant coach for the Knicks, proudly watched. This experience profoundly impacted Gilbert, who recalled it as life-changing. Despite her career shift to become a vice president at her father's recycling business, she remains a devoted Trail Blazers fan and cherishes Cheeks' guidance from years ago.
At the playoff game in April 2003, Gilbert mixed up "twilight's last gleaming" and sang "star's last gleaming" while singing the anthem.
Gilbert said on the broadcast that she continued singing professionally throughout her 20s but is now a vice president in her father's recycling company in Portland.
Collection
[
|
...
]