By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the news.
Sometime over the next few days, Mike Krzyzewski will have coached his last game as head coach of Duke basketball. After it’s all over, the legend is finally walking off into the sunset.
If this is the first you’re hearing of Krzyzewski’s swan song: Welcome to the party! We’ve been here for a while, letting the fan (or enemy) mail pile in. With his last Duke team on the precipice of the perfect career capper — a sixth National Championship — the revelry (and good old-fashioned hate) hasn’t stopped.
In advance of Duke’s historic first-ever matchup with North Carolina in the Men’s NCAA Tournament, some of the more important people in Krzyzewski’s life decided to honor the coach, the grandfather, the father, the husband, the man.
Warning: May induce waterworks.
I don’t blame Krzyzewski for barely holding it together while seemingly every notable person he’s met in his life tells him how much they love him. You’d cry in the same position, dear reader. Don’t lie.
By my loose count of notable folks in the tribute, I notice appearances, appreciations, and words of love from (but not limited to):
Kevin Durant, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Grant Hill, Tom Izzo, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Seth Curry, DeAndre Jordan, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Christian Laettner, and Jon Scheyer, among others.
The extended message wouldn’t be complete without appearances from Krzyzewski’s three daughters and his wife, Mickie. What they (surprisingly) do makes this tribute a real tearjerker. After his daughters and wife make it known how much they love their father and husband, respectively, they all say this final ride for him isn’t about them.
“God gave my dad three daughters but he has 40 years worth of sons.”
Oh my goodness, is someone cutting onions? Oh wait, there’s more?
“Thank you, daddy. Thank you for the amazing people you’ve brought into our lives. Thank you for the amazing experiences that we have had together.
We’re the luckiest, to be able to call Mike Krzyzewski our dad.”
Phew. Okay, hold it together. Hold it together. Oh no. Mickie, please, I’m already a wobbling mess, no.
“Michael, as much as you’ve meant to me, as much as you’ve meant to our girls, do you have any idea how many other lives you’ve touched?”
I don’t think anyone could’ve said it better.
Regardless of what happens to close this tournament, Krzyzewski’s place in basketball history is secure. Not because of the games and not because of the championships he won. Those outcomes don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The countless young men — over 40-plus years — that he helped become the best version of themselves, on and off the court, make him one-of-a-kind. The tribute of them gathering together to say thanks and paying their respects is all the evidence you need.
That’s what coaching is boiled down to a tee — helping people live happy, fulfilling lives. Few were ever better in that oh-so-human regard than Krzyzewski.
