![Damar Hamlin]()
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin
may not have won Comeback Player of the Year last season despite literally coming back to life — that failed fake punt in the playoffs might've hurt his cause — but don't for a second doubt that, when the game is tight, he has ice water coursing through his veins.
As part of a
philanthropic return to his native Pittsburgh area, in addition to providing CPR training and running his youth football camp, Hamlin put together a celebrity basketball game on Saturday night. Commendable as that mission was, who could've predicted that Hamlin would humiliate somebody in front of a massive crowd during those endeavors? That's what happened as the clock ran down in the exhibition match on the hardwood, as Hamlin pulled a sick off-dribble/hesi-stepback combo that
would've made Luka Doncic proud to nail the game-winning trey:
https://twitter.com/MichalowskiCBB/status/1799597148390281665
https://twitter.com/DangeRussWilson/status/1799598229379522894
Shout out to newly minted
Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson for being in attendance to capture an angle of Hamlin's winner, which he capped off with a shirtless celebration while sprinting down the court. I do feel for the woman who was tasked with guarding him, because holy hell, if football hadn't worked out, you gotta think Hamlin could've gotten a basketball scholarship somewhere.
I swear this next little bit isn't designed to make fun of Hamlin, but I couldn't help but think of the Patrick Beverley meme once he got up near the scorer's table and waved to the crowd after removing his jersey.
https://twitter.com/NBAMemes/status/1542966958798274560
Hamlin played sparingly last season after establishing himself as a starter in 2022. However, with the Bills losing their long-tenured, elite starting safety duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer this offseason — not to mention Hamlin being even further removed from the scary on-field collision that almost ended his life — perhaps there's room for the inspiring 26-year-old to earn more snaps.
Whatever happens with Hamlin's career going forward, he seems determined to continue to be a positive role model in the community. The fact that he's still alive is a constant reminder that there are more important things outside of sports — hard as that is to keep in perspective sometimes, especially with how popular but violent and brutal the NFL is.
