Quickley grateful to return after uncle’s death

Point guard missed last six games while grieving relative

His faith carried him and gave him the strength to endure loss and sorrow in difficult times. His teammates and bosses were at his side each step along the way.

And now Immanuel Quickley, close to returning to the game that brings him great joy, wants to revel in the joy basketball gives him. He’s missed the last six games and hasn’t played since March 17 in Orlando.

“You can never take basketball for granted,” the Raptors guard said Monday, two days after an emotional ceremony to celebrate the life of a close uncle, Shawn Hamilton, who died late last month. “Any time you get a chance to even come in the gym and work on your game and be around the game that you love, you don’t take that opportunity for granted, he said. “So it’s just good to be back in the gym, good to be back in Toronto. So I’m excited.”

The death of his uncle — “like another father figure to me,” Quickley said — was the most tragic aspect of a tumultuous season for the 24year-old from Havre de Grace, Md., just outside Baltimore. There was also the upheaval of a December trade to the Raptors from New York in the middle of a season before he heads into restricted free agency.

He wants it known what’s carried him. “God has been nothing short of magnificent this whole year,

He’s been with me every step of the way; I appreciate Him,” Quickley said.

“And just the love that people have shown (me), the love I’m going to continue to show even through my loss I hope can be an example to people that there’s hope still as long as you have Jesus.”

The tangible support Quickley got won’t be forgotten, especially for someone who has only been with the organization since late December. “There were like 10 to 12 people that came to my uncle’s funeral from the Toronto organization, and they didn’t have to do that,” Quickley said. “Love is an action, not just words. So it’s not just something that you say, it’s something that you do, and they’ve definitely shown that.”

Quickley’s return will be most welcomed by the Raptors, who drag the carcass of a 13-game losing streak into a Tuesday game here against the Los Angeles Lakers. He and RJ Barrett, who is also reeling from a family death, have been upgraded to probable for the game, giving the Raptors two more legitimate NBAers to play.

“(It) means a lot,” coach Darko Rajakovic said Tuesday. “Obviously for me more than anything it’s about team growth, individual growth to end the season on a good note here.

“He had a really rough stretch here the last couple of weeks, lost somebody very close to him and just getting him on the court, playing basketball is a big plus for him and us.”

It may not turn into wins, but it will definitely add a semblance of normalcy to the team. It also gives Quickley a chance to finish the season strongly. “I think momentum is important, but like throughout the time I’ve been here ... I’ve taken each day with the approach that I’m going to get better each and every day,” he said.

But almost as important, it will allow for close to a normal feeling for Quickley and Barrett. And all the players. “It’s great. Not only just RJ — RJ is obviously my guy — but the whole team,” Quickley said. “This organization has been great since the first day I got here. And just to be able to share the court with those guys has been a blessing. Look forward to it.”