Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell has special pink sneakers that he keeps at home. He doesn’t plan to wear them to play in an NBA game, but he will consider sporting them for the Heat’s annual “Red, White & Pink Game” intrasquad scrimmage.
That’s because Mitchell would only wear those special sneakers for a special moment like Wednesday night’s “Red, White & Pink Game” at Kaseya Center (6:30 p.m.) that benefits cancer care and research at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute. Cancer patients and survivors will be honored throughout the night.
“It’s going to mean a lot, especially because I’m the only child,” Mitchell said of taking part in his first “Red, White & Pink Game” since joining the Heat midway through last season. “So that’s like my closest friend.”
Mitchell is talking about his mother, Lakisha Mitchell, who is a breast cancer survivor. Lakisha battled and beat breast cancer when Mitchell was in high school.
“Seeing her go through it was really tough for me,” Mitchell, 27, continued. “Even though I was in high school, I didn’t really understand it at that point. I didn’t really know what it kind of was until I looked more into it.
“But she kept faith, she kept courage in me. She came to every game she could. I mean, every game she came to, actually. Even going through the things that she was going through. So I’m just grateful that she’s still here today.”
Mitchell remembers the moment that he found out about his mother’s cancer diagnosis.
“I was in my sophomore year of high school,” he said. “And she just told me about this lump on her side of her arm, and then she kind of said she went to go checked in. And as I looked into it, I looked more into it. I remember I started crying one day because I’m thinking I’ll never see her again after I leave the house for high school.”
But Lakisha is now cancer-free.
“She’s super healthy,” said Mitchell, who is entering his first full season with the Heat after being traded to Miami this past February as part of the Jimmy Butler deal. “She’s smiling every day. I talk to her every day. So that’s one of the things I look forward to in my day.”
It’s Lakisha’s strength and determination that helped her endure her fight with cancer. It’s also Lakisha’s strength and determination that set a standard for Mitchell.
Mitchell, a 6-foot guard who is known as a standout on-ball defender, draws motivation from his mother’s story.
“I’m blessed. I mean, she’s super blessed that she’s still here,” said Mitchell, with the Heat set to close its six-game preseason schedule on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies. “I think one of the things that she always told me was just keep working hard. I think that’s why I go so hard every time I’m on the court. I go so hard for her, I play for her. So it just means a lot that she’s still here with me today. “
Mitchell honors his mother with a tattoo of “2:16” on his shoulder, as Mitchell and Lakisha were both born at the same time of 2:16 p.m. That coincidence also helped Mitchell pick No. 45 as his jersey number.
“It’s one of those things where if you add two, one and six, it equals to nine. And I was the ninth pick,” said Mitchell, who was taken by the Sacramento Kings with the ninth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. “Then if you add four plus five, that’s really the reason why I’m number 45, too. So it’s like one of the things we have together. She knows that 45 means basically No. 9, and I rep 2:16 everywhere.”
On Wednesday, Mitchell wants to represent his mother during a night dedicated to those who are battling and have battled cancer. That’s why he may bring out the pink sneakers he has stored in his home.
Lakisha teamed up with Under Armour to create the pink sneakers late last season, surprising Mitchell with them after he was traded to the Heat.
The inside strap of the player-exclusive colorway of the “Curry Fox 1” sneaker features a handwritten note from Lakisha stating, “On September 5th at 2:16 p.m., God blessed me with one of life’s greatest gifts, Love, Mom.”
The heels of each sneaker display a pink ribbon to honor all breast cancer survivors, with 2:16 p.m. inscribed on the sock liners.
“The fact that Under Armour kind of just talked to her about it and made that shoe about her, it just means so much to me,” Mitchell said. “I have a couple of them. I’m never going to wear them, just keep them in my house.” Until Wednesday.
“I think that, yeah, I might do that,” Mitchell said when asked whether he would wear the pink sneakers for Wednesday night’s “Red, White & Pink Game.” “I definitely might do that.”