CLEVELAND -- Nick Gilbert is no stranger to Cleveland Cavaliers fans. After all, the son of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert served as the team's "good luck" charm during its multiple trips to the NBA Draft Lottery in the early-2000s.
On Wednesday, Nick -- a regular at Cavs games -- made his return to the Quicken Loans Arena for the team's highly anticipated matchup with the first-place Toronto Raptors. Gilbert, who underwent brain surgery in February, had just been released from the hospital a mere week ago following a 38-day stay.
The 21-year-old Gilbert received a warm welcome from the fans at Quicken Loans Arena, who have been all too familiar with his lifelong battle with neurofibromatosis. The nerve disorder, which affects one in 3,000 people, causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body at any time.
Gilbert's recent laser ablation brain surgery was performed at a Detroit-area hospital.
But despite his surgery and the more than month-long hospital stay that followed, Gilbert appeared to be in good spirits as he gave a 'thumbs up' to the adoring fans at The Q. To paraphrase Nick's famous line from the 2011 NBA Draft lottery, "What's not to like" about that?
