Dallas Mavericks backup point guard J.J. Barea has always taken the hardwood with a certain toughness and grittiness to his game. Barea has familiarized himself with the Mavs system over his eight years with the franchise and does a nice job running the show for the second unit.
Barea carries his resiliency off the court as well as the veteran has been playing a major part in Puerto Rico’s relief efforts after getting hammered by Hurrican Maria. We’ve seen a multitude of massive storms decimate different parts of the Western Hemisphere in recent weeks but with Barea being from Puerto Rico, he found it paramount that he pitch in and do his part as the nation recovers from Hurricane Maria.
Barea spent nearly his entire adolescence on the Caribbean island and he gave a dire description to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard on his nation’s condition upon his arrival:
“The only way I can describe it is that it was like a bomb had gone off.”
Barea continued, highlighting the differences between how he remembers Puerto Rico compared to it’s currently destroyed state: “The Puerto Rico where I grew up was an island of beauty. Clear, blue water, golden sand, always green. But when our flight touched down in San Juan this past Tuesday, I hardly recognized my home. The sand was gone. The trees flattened. The water an ugly brownish-green.”
While the death count continues to pile up, countless other lives have been altered as well due to the sheer damage Maria caused to the island. People are still fighting for their lives and without many resources, survival would be an uphill battle. Without much assistance coming from the United States, Barea was forced to take things into his own hands and he’s been able to make a difference, thanks in large part to Mavs owner Mark Cuban who lent him the team plane for transporting supplies.
The NBA has done a phenomenal job doing its part and then some in the wake of these tragic natural disasters. J.J. Barea finding a way to give his country a helping hand is an admirable act and should immensely help the hundreds of people still fighting for their lives.
