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Play, download and edit the free video Ex-Miami HEAT Star Brian Grant, Battling Parkinsons, Advocates for Others Fighting The Disease.

During 12 standout years in the NBA, former Miami HEAT Brian Grant was known for his hustle and toughness as a power forward or center, sometimes shaking off injuries and maneuvering his 6-foot-9-inch frame to block shots or leap for rebounds.
But his battles on the basketball court would pale in comparison to what awaited him shortly after his retirement from the NBA. One day in 2008, a neurologist in Portland, Oregon told him he had Young Onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD), which occurs in people younger than 50. He was 36 years-old at the time.
Brian talks about his journey and his message of encouragement for others with Parkinson's.

[transcript]

(emotional music builds throughout)

[Miami HEAT player Brian Grant running on basketball court in early 2000’s]

[Announcer] And the Heat takes the lead with seven seconds left.

[Brian Grant on camera] Miami's always gonna hold a special place in my heart, always.

[Images of Brian Grant with title: at age 36 Brian Grant was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease]

[Justin Sporrer, M.D. Director of Functional Neurosurgery, Miami Neuroscience Institute]

[Dr. Sporrer] We know that many people will develop Parkinson's later in life, but we see these cases where people start to have symptoms in their thirties and forties, sometimes even earlier than that. And so I think the takeaway is that really anybody could develop it.

[Brian Grant] I was worried, I was scared in the beginning because this isn't a basketball game, it's a race that never ends. And I went through nine months of depression, which I later found that a lot of Parkinson's patients go through because of the loss of dopamine in the brain.

[Brian Grant exercising with an instructor. His left hand shows a pronounced tremor]

[Brian Grant] I had to retrain my brain to know that it's not something I'm gonna win, but I can still battle.

[Dr. Sporrer] If you have a tremor or you're having difficulty with movements of any sort, you owe it to yourself to at least get it checked out.

[Sameea Husain Wilson, Director of Movement Disorder Neurology, Marcus Neuroscience Institute]

[Dr. Husain Wilson] Capturing symptoms as early as possible is the name of the game. Getting to a movement disorder neurologist is the name of the game because that is where we come in to help with that emotional journey.

[Photograph of Brian Grant with Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali]

[Brian Grant] I've met some very great people and I'm not just talking about Michael J. Fox or the Ali's. I'm talking about regular people who are dealing with this disease and who are doin' something about it. And they're my inspiration.

[Brian Grant making a speech at Brian Grant Foundation event in 2017]
[Photo of Brian Grant with 5 of his children]

[Brian Grant] Even if we don't discover something in my lifetime, I'm hoping that the work will be there for my children if they happen to get Parkinson's. My message to those with Parkinson's today is to stay with it. You don't have to live alone with this disease.

[Brian Grant greets Miami HEAT’s Pat Riley at gathering in 2017]
[Brian Grant on basketball court accepting check for 25-thousand dollars from HEAT in 2017]

[Brian Grant] Lean on the people who are there for you to lean on and, you know, keep checkin' to see what's new. Just stay with it.

(powerful emotional music ends)

[end of transcript]

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