When Chris Wright was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year, doctors weren’t sure if he’d be able to walk again, let alone continue his basketball career.
So far the score is Thomas 1, MS 0 as the 23-year-old point guard made history by becoming the first known player with the disease to make an NBA roster, recently signing a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
It’s the latest personal triumph for Wright, who with the help of medical therapy and good genetics is currently winning the battle against a crippling disease that attacks the central nervous system and can lead to paralysis in the most extreme cases.
“That’s definitely one of the things I pride myself on, being the face of it and being an inspiration and motivation for people to keep fighting,” Wright told ESPN Dallas after his first practice with the Mavs.
Wright learned how to keep fighting against adversity even before his life-changing diagnosis. After going undrafted out of Georgetown in 2011, he was forced to make a name for himself in the pros half a world away from the NBA in the Turkish Basketball League.
It was in Turkey, playing for Olin Edime, where he was diagnosed with MS after his right foot gave out on him during running drills at team practice. Other symptoms soon followed, including numbness and pain in his right hand, arm and leg, leading him to visit multiple doctors before his disease was properly identified.
Despite the grim prognosis, it never occurred to Wright to give up on basketball.
“I just knew it’d be a process, and when I got back, it’d be a good story,” he said.
By July of 2012, Wright was playing again in U.S., earning a spot with the Iowa Energy, the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate. With his MS in remission, he averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals this season, earning an All-Star selection in the process. And this week the NBA came calling when the Mavericks opened a spot on their roster by cutting Dominique Jones.
“I made history with this,” Wright said of his call-up, which is more than justified according to Mavs president of basketball operations, Donnie Nelson.
“Chris is a true point guard that’s consistently ranked as one of the top point guards in the D-League this season,” Nelson told ESPN Dallas. “He’s a high-character, tough competitor who’s had to consistently overcome personal challenges like MS to put himself in this position. The physical obstacles he’s had to contend with are significant.”
While there are no guarantees he’ll get playing time under coach Rick Carlisle, Wright is used to dealing with uncertainty.
“There’s not a cure for MS,” he said. “Can there be a relapse? Absolutely. But with the way I’ve been progressing and the way my body has been … I just go from there and see what happens.”
“It’s all a blessing.”
