Suns sign 12-year-old to full one day contract in touching Make-A-Wish event
No matter what happens next, the record will always show that for one day, Jonah Zahm was a member of the Phoenix Suns. In the process, he became the youngest member of the Suns in team history.
Of course, Zahm was only a member of the Suns in spirit. He never played in a game, yet he still may have had as big an impact on the Suns team as any new addition in recent times. That’s because just by being there, Zahm helped put everything in perspective.
As chronicled by the Arizona Republic, Zahm is a 12-year-old who suffers from a rare seizure condition called pyridoxine dependent epilepsy, which forces him to take 12-15 pills orally each day to limit his seizures. After two years waiting for his turn to get his wish as part of the Make-A-Wish program, Zahm flew from the Zahm family farm in Osco, Ill. to Phoenix to meet members of the Suns.
Yet the Suns had other ideas. Rather than just have Zahm meet team members in the locker room, Suns general manager Lance Blanks signed the middle schooler to the team, holding an official signing ceremony and a press conference where Zahm was even asked how he planned to defend Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
“Today is an exciting day in Suns basketball,” Blanks told the press assembled at the signing ceremony. “I have the honor of introducing what I think will be the greatest Sun for a day in history.”
Zahm clearly made an impression, hitting eight straight shots at the team shootaround and leading the team’s midcourt “huddle break”. Afterwards he shared lunch with his favorite player, Channing Frye, who couldn’t quite wrap his head around just how knowledgeable Zahm was about basketball.
“I was shocked how much knowledge he had,” Frye told the Republic. “He was just rattling off numbers, stories and memories.”
Now, thanks to the Suns, Zahm will have one amazing memory above all others.
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