By Andy Charles

Getting away from the defensive deficiencies of the Raptors for a minute, there is a man playing in the Atlantic Division at the moment who deserves the respect of all NBA fans, not just those in the town he now calls home.

The player I am talking about is Philadelphia 76ers center Sam Dalembert, the only player in the NBA who comes from Haiti, focus of so many tragic front page headlines over the last 10 days or so.

The massive earthquake to hit Port Au Prince last week was a tragedy that hit home to Big Sam, who had his parents, sister and brother on the Caribbean island through their worst loss of life in history.

Only his father now remains on the island, through his own choice, but Dalembert returned to Philly at the family’s behest in time to play against Portland on Wednesday and received a heartfelt welcome from fans in a city sometimes harshly known for turning on their own.

I have nothing but respect for Dalembert, who somehow managed to briefly forget the heart-breaking scenes in Haiti to score 10 points and pull down 15 rebounds in a losing effort.

It really is difficult to imagine just what he and his countrymen and women have been through, but to have a hero like Sam to look up to is just his small way of trying to get a focus in North America on the country’s recovery efforts, which will take years and likely cost billions.

He has already announced his plans to donate $250,000 to the cause and other sports with Haitian interests have followed suit – it’s only a drop in the ocean at the moment but I say kudos to Sam Dalembert and wish him nothing but the best for the future…apart from when he is playing the Raptors of course.

By Andy Charles - A professional sports writer who blogs about NBA Betting.

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