Justin Tillman’s NBA dream has never felt this close.
The former Detroit Pershing standout and ESPN four-star recruit is coming off of a strong season with the College Park Skyhawks, the Atlanta Hawks’ G League affiliate. Tillman earned All-NBA G League first team honors after averaging 23.5 points and 11.6 rebounds while shooting 59.8% overall and 41.7% from 3. He signed a 10-day contract with the Hawks in December. It was his first time sitting on an NBA bench, and he hopes it is not be his last.
Tillman worked out for the Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks last week, and has six more workouts planned throughout the month of June. The hope is Tillman, 26, can land on an NBA roster this fall. He went undrafted in 2018 after four years at VCU and has spent most of his career playing overseas, with stops in South Korea, Israel, Italy and Turkey.
But Tillman’s NBA dream isn’t just his own. It was also the dream his parents had for him. His father, John, died April 4, 2020, after a battle with COVID-19 at the age of 53. His mother, Angela, was hospitalized with COVID at the same time as his father.
She was in critical condition and was also placed on a ventilator, but recovered from the virus. But the battle weakened her body. She died just two months after John at age 55 following a stroke.
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than a million Americans, and the city of Detroit has been hit disproportionately hard. Tillman was playing for Hapoel Galil Gilboa in Israel when the pandemic started, and he moved back to Detroit that March after the sports world shut down.
John Tillman had a mild cough during his final phone conversations with his son. By the time Tillman arrived in Detroit following a 14-hour flight, both of his parents had already been hospitalized and his dad was on a ventilator. Because of strict hospital COVID protocols, Tillman never got to see his dad in person.
For more than two years, Tillman has advanced his professional basketball career while managing overwhelming grief. The loss of his mother and father forced him to grow up and become a caretaker for his family. He and his older sister, JaNay, both have their own families. Tillman has a 2-year-old son named Jayce.
Losing both parents and having a child and nephew gave Tillman more motivation to accomplish his NBA goal now.
“I just wanted to put all that hurt, that pain and everything into what I do on the court and just fight for what I want, fight for the dream I want and fight for the dream my dad wanted for me, which was to make it to the NBA and just leave everything I’ve got out there,” Tillman said. “Just to have more money to take care of my family — my sister, my grandmother — make sure everybody’s in a great position.”
‘I had to cry it all out’
Tillman credits his dad for his love for basketball. John Tillman was 6 feet 5 and didn’t play past high school, but was a student of the game. Tillman said his dad never hesitated to spend his last dollar sending his son to out-of-state camps and to work out with trainers.
John was also a passionate ballroom dancer — a pastime shared by many Detroiters. He enjoyed putting on a three-piece suit before he went out and frequented several clubs across the metro area, including the now-shuttered Club Yesterday’s in Redford Township.
Coronavirus swept through Detroit’s ballroom community in the early days of the pandemic. Justin said that his father was one of 20 regulars at Club Yesterday’s who died from COVID around the same time.
“Still to this day, it feels unreal,” Tillman said. “Just to go through that alone and for my mom to be in the hospital, and for her to be on a ventilator right after him, we’re thinking the worst. This happened to our dad, so it’s going to happen to our mom, too. And we’re hearing of all these people passing away, they’re saying the death rate is going up. We’re really worried.”
Angela was more quiet and shy than John, Tillman said, and her generosity was felt. She was always happy to offer people rides or a helping hand. They attended church at New Providence Baptist on Detroit’s west side.
“Very, very high-character people,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart, who recruited Justin and coached at VCU from 2009 until 2015, said in a phone interview. “Just salt-of-the-earth people and they just loved Justin. And they really instilled a lot of work ethic in him, and a lot of belief in him. It was really good getting to know them.
“When COVID hit and that tragedy occurred, both mom and dad, I remember just thinking I just hope Justin can find a way to persevere. There’s nobody tougher-minded than him.”
Tillman was training in Houston preparing to play for Banco di Sardegna Sassari in Italy when his sister called him and delivered the news of his mother’s death. He closed himself off from the world and didn’t touch a basketball for months as he grieved his parents. He couldn’t think about his career. He had to make sure the rest of his family — and himself — were OK.
“I feel like I couldn’t deal with it because I had to make sure everybody else was good,” he said. “And then being kids, having to set up your parents’ funeral. It was unreal, man. Even though I wasn’t in control of it, I felt like it was so disrespectful that our parents had to have funerals during a time where you were limited in how many people you could have there. So many people respected my parents so much. I knew they would’ve had a full church of people there to pay their respects and come show their love and support for us.”
Eventually, Tillman decided to continue his career. He thought about his parents and their strength, and how they wouldn’t have wanted him to give up. He, too, didn’t want to give up. He and his sister spent a lot of nights talking about their upbringing, sharing family memories, going through photo albums and crying together.
When Tillman left for Italy, he was still grieving.
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“I had a lot of nights out crying out there, calling my sister to calm me down, or my Aunt Kim, or my cousin Darrin,” Tillman said. “He’s a big part of my life. He’s been there for me throughout my basketball career, right along with my dad supporting me and helping me out. Anything I needed. Just took a lot. I had to cry it all out.
“I was at a point where I feel like I’m numb right now. Now, a lot of stuff doesn’t bother me. But at the same time it made me stronger, and I had to control it and channel it in a good, positive area to get on the court.”
Darrin, who’s full name is Thaddeus Darrin Gordon, said he did his best to give Tillman the spiritual and emotional support he needed. It often meant waking up at 5 a.m. for phone calls.
“After he lost his parents, the burden of responsibility did step up more on him because there was no one but his sister, and she’s got her own little family that she’s trying to raise,” Gordon said. “Then he had to take on a lot more responsibility as far as trying to provide for the household, and he’s doing that and he’s continuously doing it. He’s on a mission, and the weight of the world is on his shoulders. That’s pretty much how he’s played.”
A pathway to the NBA
Late last season, Tillman sat down with his agent, Jerry Dianis, and mapped out a plan. Dianis told him he believes he’s an NBA-caliber talent, and that now is the right time to push to make an NBA roster. Dianis was convinced after watching Tillman post 28 points and 24 rebounds Jan. 28 against the Delaware Blue Coats.
“He plays with a high motor every game, which is why he’s so consistent,” Dianis said. “If you want to go from the G League to the NBA, you’re going to have to be a star in your role. I think that Justin, playing with a lot of energy and providing a spark in limited minutes, whatever minutes you’re called upon, that’s his role. Energy on both ends of the floor, rebounding the hell out of the ball in short spurts. That’s his pathway to the league.”
After a conversation with Skyhawks general manager Tori Miller last offseason, Tillman felt that Atlanta was the right landing spot for him. His hunch proved to be correct.
Tillman led the Skyhawks in scoring and was the only player in the G League to rank top 10 in both points per game (23.5, ninth overall) and rebounds (11.6, second overall). Tillman said his 10-day contract with the Hawks, which allowed him to learn from superstar Trae Young and the rest of their playoff roster, was instrumental for his development.
“I feel like I was the best big man in the G League,” Tillman said. “I feel like I dominated the whole season. I finished this season averaging 24, and like I said, 60-40-80 from the field. I feel like I can help any NBA organization out with my energy, my rebounding ability, my athleticism, size, 7-4 wingspan. I feel like I can be a part of any organization and help them be effective right now.”
Tillman and Dianis are prioritizing workouts with NBA playoff teams who don’t have a pick in the 2022 draft, which will take place June 23. Of the five players to make first-team All-G League, Tillman is the only one who went undrafted and has never signed a two-way contract. Standing 6-8 with a 7-4 wingspan, Tillman’s ability to play the four and five and space the floor could appeal to teams in title contention.
Tillman is still carrying the love he felt from his parents, and the lessons they taught him.
“I’m not surprised to see him handle it as well as he has, because the character level that they instilled in him from the beginning was very high and continues to be very high,” Smart said. “I don’t think he was ever going to be denied in the game of basketball.
“And I know in the end it’s very, very important for him to make his parents proud and to do what he told them he was going to do. I know that’s really the big motivator for him.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.