5 Christians Vying for a Championship Ring in NBA Playoffs
1. Nene Hilario, 34, Houston Rockets Center
Before the veteran big man became a mentor to the Rockets star guard James Harden, the 6′11″ Brazilian known simply as Nene leaned on his faith in God to overcome two cancer scares.
Nine years ago, Nene fought for his health when a testicular tumor was removed in 2008. Not long after, his wife Lauren had to undergo brain surgery to remove a benign tumor on her pituitary gland.
The basketball player, who describes himself as a "man of a God" on Twitter, said he believes God brought him through the ordeal to help people.
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"I realize God, He marked me, to understand, back in the day when I diagnosed with cancer, He said, 'You're going to have it because you're going to help a lot of people,'" Nene previously said in a Washington Post report. "I'm not nothing without God. The things I've been through, I been through because He was with me. If I wasn't, I would've fell on the first wall."
