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January 8, 2016After one of the Cleveland Cavaliers most exciting games of the season, a 121-115 win in Washington Wednesday night, Cavs star LeBron James said that he was motivated by someone special in attendance. That special fan was Leah Still, the cancer-beating five-year-old daughter of NFL defensive tackle Devon Still. Leah fought neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer, for more than a year, and also won the Jimmy V Perseverance award at the 2015 ESPY Awards last July.
LeBron and Leah first met in February 2015 at the NBA All-Star Game in New York — he had sent her an autographed jersey in December 2014 — and they have kept in contact since. Leah was James’ biggest fan Wednesday night, donning a replica No. 23 jersey. LeBron’s youngest child is his daughter Zhuri, and feeling that father-daughter bond firsthand seems to have brought him closer to the Stills.
Following his 34-point, 10-rebound, four-assist performance, LeBron spoke to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin about how playing in front of the Stills boosted his performance.
“Absolutely,” James said when asked if Leah’s presence affected his output. “I knew she was going to be there tonight, and her and Zhuri, my baby girl, are my two favorite women in the world. They’re just unbelievable. I know my mom and my wife will be a little bit jealous, but they got to take a backseat to those two. Just her strength and her courage and what she’s been through over the last few years, man, it’s uplifting to all of us, and it’s always great seeing her, for sure.”
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“I got a daughter, and then just also being a father and seeing what Devon was going through at the time to keep that strength and keep his composure when his daughter was going through what she was going through, it just resonated, man. And from that point on, we became good friends, and I’m good friends with Devon.”
For the Stills, the better news than Leah’s pal LeBron beating the Wizards was Devon officially re-joining the NFL. On Wednesday the defensive tackle signed a futures contract with the Houston Texans, his first since being released by the Cincinnati Bengals in September
“Signed by Houston,” James said with a big smile. “That’s all blessings from the man above.”
Devon Still took to Instagram to document the family outing to Cavs-Wiz, which included Leah going hard on some popcorn.