Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy via Getty Images
The Los Angeles Lakers’ Christian Wood accomplished one of his biggest goals yet when he surprised his mother with her dream home.
The 2023-24 NBA season is off to a great start for the players on the Los Angeles Lakers roster after winning the league’s inaugural in-season tournament. The new month-long basketball series kicked off on Nov. 3 and wrapped up on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, where the Lakers beat the Pacers by 14 points. In addition to bragging rights, each player on the winning team was gifted $500,000. Now, less than a month later, Wood is celebrating another win that’s more personal to him: buying his mother the home he promised her before being picked up by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015.
On Jan. 1, the power forward shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he finally was able to hand his mother the keys to a house he bought for her. He tweeted three pictures of his mom at her new residence and a video showing off the grand pool along with some joyful words that expressed how he felt about the special moment.
“Life goal ..Promised my mom at 18 with no money I would get her the house of her dreams before I’m 30 fast forward to now I did that !!! I love you,” the athlete tweeted.
His tweet was met with a ton of praise from peers and fans who joined in the momentous occasion with kind words
“This is the best!! Your mom must be so proud of you,” one person said.
“What a wonderful son and very lucky mom,” another agreed.
“Wow. Some things are just bigger than sports. Congratulations Wood,” someone else commented.
Although unconfirmed, many believe that Wood purchased the home with the prize money he received. In 2021, through a paid partnership with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted brand and New Amsterdam Vodka, Wood showed gratitude to his mom.
“What’s up, mom, it’s Chris. After finishing up another NBA season, I can’t help but think about that night in 2015 when I was passed over in the draft. That feeling, like I was a failure,” he said at the time in a voicemail, Uninterrupted reported. “I like to think about that night sometimes, because it helps me put how far I’ve come into perspective. It helps me stay grateful to you for your sacrifice, and it keeps me strong for what’s to come.”
He continued, “I went undrafted that night, and even after I got in, I’ve been waived and pushed from team to team. Maybe that would break some other players. Maybe they would give up. But you know I’m not like that. You know, every time I go somewhere new… every time I’m given a chance to show people who I am, I show them by playing harder and outperforming myself every time.”
He ended his message by thanking his mother for always having faith in him and his talent.
“The road’s been long, and there’s so much farther to go. But, you know I’m getting better every step of the way,” he said. “I just wanted to call you and thank you for always believing in me, especially that night when I didn’t even believe in myself. I love you, Mom.”
