MALIK SEALY Feature-SEALY

21 Jersey Salute. 

By TIM DAVID HARVEY 

“Feel me, I’m loved like the great late Malik Sealy.” - AZ (Nas-The Flyest). 

"Just give me a second man", Kevin Garnett says softly, holding his index finger up like Deke. "Damn." His gigantic seven foot frame leaning forward on his couch as he crouches, head between knees brace like he's getting his wind back after a big play that just takes it out of you. 'The Last Dance' of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls on ESPN and Netflix may be over now, as the tablet passed memes and timelines have tweeted so much like former teammates Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen expressing their disdain about to lock horns, that the G.O.A.T 23 emoji has fallen off the hash-tag trend. But from all the 30 For 30's to 'The Carter Effect' on Netflix like 'Basketball Is Nothing', there's still plenty of hoop documentaries to play in your home hoop cinema like all the X and O movies there actually are. Like one of the best and biggest shots in Boston's own Ben Affleck's career for 'The Way Back' to redemption. One of the best docus simply being 'KG'. The story of Kevin Garnett. Filmed when the Big Ticket punched himself a Beantown stub to the Celtic pride of the NBA's most storied franchise in Boston, en route to a classic career as a champion on court, Garnett wore his new green number 5 on the polo at home with all cameras on him like there were eyes on 'Pac. But the backstory of this life and times knew that just like where he would finish his Hall of Fame career, Kevin's heart belonged in Minnesota with the Timberwolves like the number 21 raised to the retired rafters. But why he wore that number 21 forever means so much more. Stephon Marbury may have been the star like Starbury remade in China, but when everyone was talking about Showbiz and K.G. in the early days of Da Kid, Kevin Garnett's best teammate was also his greatest inspiration. And we aren't talking about one of the big three in Latrell Sprewell or Sam Cassell. No when it comes to Garnett's greatest teammate. The flyest of them all is the star of Whoopi Goldberg's Basketball movie 'Eddie' as a New York Knick. The great Malik Sealy.

"Ah well this is the Bronx. This is where I grew up. Um right here is Valentine Avenue. Basically where everything started for me," Malik tells cameras back in 1995 for his own documentary. Rocking the foundation of his own t-shirt, as he takes us on a playground tour like showing off your new friends to your mom. A place where he honed his skills like Jay-Z the kitchen table. The blueprint of his Basketball career were he would make K.G. believe this s### was real like Jaz-O. St. John's was were this kid would be a pre-NBA star like the late Len Bias, or the last member of that '92 Olympic Dream Team in Barcelona worthy of his own 30 For 30. If you want to talk about Wolves, there's a reason 'I Hate Christian Laettner'. Finishing his time as an alumni with a second all-time point total of 2,401 for John's, Malik named after Malik Shabazz, none other than political Malcolm X would follow in his footsteps of inspiration by any means necessary. Being good enough to be drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 14th pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and inspire a young kid by the name of Kevin to wear the 21 in his honor, all the way until the day this biggest fan would meet his best friend. A 6 foot, 8 inch, 200 poung, Shooting Guard/Small Forward tweener who would play with the Clippers in Los Angeles and the Detroit Pistons in Motown. Malik rose to the occasion like a San Antonio Spur. But Sealy would truly find his home for his game and number 2 jersey in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis as a Minnesota Timberwolf. Throwing up a downtown prayer against the Indy team that drafted him, like he was pushing everything out his body for an epic experience the same as he clutched like Reggie Miller and hit the biggest ticket of a buzzer beating shot next to K.G. Right on target in the Target Center. Falling to the floor and lying on the court under the trees and pointing to the rafters he'd one day reside like Dikeme Mutombo Simba lifting the Spalding like 'The Lion King' to the ceiling in smiling, eighth wonder Nuggets knocking the top seeded Supersonics out of the first round of the playoffs with a sweep. Better get your brooms as Sealy shimmied like Antoine Walker. A pre-Paul Pierce teammate Kevin Garnett jumping on top of him with the game called on account of hugs.

"Malik had me wanting to go to St. John's", Garnett tells it. As in a news report a decade ago on the ten year anniversary, the late, great anchor Stuart Scott continues that in 1999 these two men bonded forever would become teammates. It started with dinner and then blossomed into a big brother mentorship to confide in and open up to. Idol to ally. Inseparable. Inspirational. "Malik and Kevin were brothers. Best friends," former teammate, future coach and always friend Sam Mitchell concurred. Adding a shy Kevin didn't want to go out much, until Malik coaxed him like, "screw that man let's go." Similar to what Steve Nash did for Dirk in Dallas, fresh off the flight from Frankfurt. Bringing him out of his shell, Mitchell believes Malik "taught Kevin how to be a superstar", giving him the seal of approval. In the new millennium 2000 night of number 21's 24th birthday Da Kid, Kevin Garnett felt on top of the world. SURPRISE! A party for the young star had everyone in attendance as Kevin, Malik and Sam snapped a beautiful photograph to mark the night. When Kevin got home and to bed he just thanked God for this beautiful day and night. But then what seemed like an incredible night would be marked for life in another way we would all never forget, even though we wish we could go back to before all that. Kevin's aunt almost kicked his door down. What's the matter? "You've got to get up!" Something happened to Malik. Sealy's SUV was hit by a pick-up truck going the other way on Malik's journey home. The driver drunk. Who years later would be arrested for another DUI. Sealy perfectly sober passed away that night as his life was cruelly taken by the fickle twist of tragic fate. "I just seen him" Kevin told his aunt in disbelief as time stopped for the man. Innocence gone with his friend. "That's what that was" he tells the documentary camera crew in the same disbelief as the weight of his arm gives out like the one that doesn't leave his shoulders. Shortly after Garnett's 24th, he and Sealy were meant to leave for vacation together, instead Kevin was a pallbearer for Malik's funeral. Carrying his best friends name and number above his locker for life. Like a Jerry West jersey we celebrated Da Kid, Kevin Garnett's 44th (WHAT?!) birthday yesterday. But one that is always bittersweet because of what he woke up to the next day. As today we mark the 20th anniversary of Malik Sealy's passing with a piece we should have wrote more than 10 ago. "I think everybody goes through something in their life that makes them who they are in the present. And that's what Malik was for me." Sealy like Charlotte Hornet Bobby Phills and the New Jersey Net superstar who started the European revolution before Dirk and Doncic and could have even given M.J. a run for his money (yeah I said it Mike...and you know it), Drazen Petrovic all lost their lives tragically to automobile accidents. And over the last year we have lost even more of our NBA family from Commissioner David Stern to and it's still so hard to believe and write this, Kobe Bryant. This year in Springfield when Kevin Garnett puts on that Naismith orange jacket like Tiger Woods does August's green one with Tim Duncan in the Hall of Fame, his friend Kobe Bryant should be with him like throwing it off the glass in the All Star game for the West. And as Kevin takes to the podium to make a speech as stirring as his play was passionate like no other. Like his late, great coach Flip Saunders, the man who wore number 2 for Sealy in Brooklyn like he does inked always in his arm only wishes his best friend Mailk could be there to introduce, or at least watch over him. But don't you know...he will be. Tragedy touches us all, but friendship is forever. Pick up the phone. Two decades gone and if they still wrote a book on his life, do you think anyone would read it? No f###### doubt! 20 years ago we lost Malik Sealy. Two decades later he's still the flyest. Stillmatic.