MINNEAPOLIS, MN (Dakota News Now) – The cheers echoed through the gym as Team South Dakota took the court at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, but for the athletes competing in Unified basketball, the biggest victories weren\u2019t always reflected on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n
Special Olympics Unified Sports brings together high school athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to compete on the same team, emphasizing inclusion, teamwork, and friendship alongside competition.<\/p>\n
For Watertown sisters Lenora and Lilly Jacobson, getting the chance to play together on the court as a Special Olympics Athlete and a Unified Partner is the biggest reward.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust seeing when they score, all our athletes, their faces just light up,\u201d Jacobson said. \u201cOr they make a really good play, and it\u2019s just so heartwarming. It makes me feel so awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the tournament, athletes and Unified partners practiced, competed, and celebrated together, creating bonds that extended far beyond basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cAthletes and partners from every state play basketball with the whole team, and it\u2019s very fun,\u201d said Special Olympics athlete Isaac Sheehan of Hayti. \u201cIt\u2019s a very long week, but it\u2019s a very fun week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Unified Sports model is designed to promote meaningful inclusion by placing athletes with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team, where every player contributes both on and off the court.<\/p>\n
That support was evident throughout South Dakota\u2019s games. Teammates celebrated made baskets, encouraged one another after missed shots, and applauded good plays, even when they came from the opposing team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI congratulated the other team a lot because they had some really shifty athletes,\u201d Jacobson said. \u201cGood for them! They were awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several members of Team South Dakota, the journey began years before arriving in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
Unified partners Aiden Abraham and Jackson Wadsworth first met Sheehan while attending Hamlin High School, where he served as the basketball team\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was our team manager in basketball,\u201d Abraham said. \u201cHe was on the sidelines. He was shooting baskets and stuff, trying to get better while we were practicing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, the three share the floor as teammates representing South Dakota on the national stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun to come full circle so we can give back a little bit to him and play with him and give him another opportunity to play together as a whole,\u201d Wadsworth said.<\/p>\n
While medals and final scores marked the end of competition, players said the friendships built throughout the week may be what they remember most.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying basketball is the best experience,\u201d Sheehan said.<\/p>\n