Fatima Smith, mother of Lakers' Michael Beasley, dies after battle with cancer
Fatima Smith, the mother of Los Angeles Lakers player Michael Beasley, died on Sunday after battling cancer.
Beasley posted a remembrance of his mother on Instagram, a picture of her with the caption “Mommy” and an angel emoji.
A post shared by Michael Beasley (@michael8easley) on Dec 23, 2018 at 7:04am PST
Beasley had spent a number of days away from the team this season due to his mother’s illness. He was absent for six days at the end of October, and for one day in mid-November. Beasley has been away from the team since Dec. 8, and hasn’t yet returned.
Smith had asked her son to take her to see the Lakers play in person during his most recent absence, so he brought her to see the Lakers play the Washington Wizards in D.C. Beasley spent a few minutes on the bench with his teammates at the start of the second half before returning to watch the rest of the game with his mother in a suite.
Many of Beasley’s teammates had been openly supportive of him while he was handling his mother’s illness, including LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and coach Luke Walton. Walton said a few words about Beasley and his family in his pregame remarks before the Lakers took on the Memphis Grizzlies. Via ESPN:
“I just wanted to send our love, our thoughts and our prayers to Michael Beasley and his family,” Walton said. “They’re going through a tough time. But we’re thinking of you, we miss you, and we love you.”
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