Most of America learned that Nick Gilbert, son of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, was facing major brain surgery this week in a hospital in or near Detroit. The news came during Sunday’s Cavs-Boston Celtics game in which ESPN analyst Doris Burke made mention of it during the broadcast.
Nick Gilbert, now 21, is best known by NBA fans for the role he played in 2011, when he represented the team and brought home the draft pick that was used to land All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. Dan Gilbert revealed via Twitter that Nick had made it through the surgery and is now recovering from it, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
Nick Gilbert, 21, underwent the surgery this week to treat a brain tumor. His father said Nick made it through the surgery and 48 hours of rest, but still has “hurdles ahead.”
Miracles do happen!After 8 long hrs of brain surgery & 48 hrs rest,Nick is recovering nicely. Endless gratitude to the many souls whose thoughts & prayers surely impacted positive outcome. Nick still has hurdles ahead but true hope is now alive.1st question:”Did @cavs beat OKC?” pic.twitter.com/9ojbreTZmJ
— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) February 16, 2018
A Cavs spokesman said there was no more information to share. The surgery was done at a Detroit-area hospital.
Nick was born with neurofibromatosis, a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body. This is at least his second brain surgery to treat a tumor.
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Dan Gilbert said Nick’s first question after the surgery was whether the Cavaliers won Tuesday night. The Cavs topped the Thunder 120-112 in their final game before the All-Star break.
Before that game, the Cavs players and coaches sent Nick a video with well-wishes.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report
