The coronavirus has hit the NBA hard over the past two months. A number of players and other league personnel have been infected, including stars Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert and Knicks owner James Dolan, but the disease has not been limited just to them. A number of players past and present have had family members battle COVID-19. That includes Karl-Anthony Towns, whose mother recently died after being hospitalized with the disease, and sadly, former NBA lottery pick Sebastian Telfair, who has now lost two family members due to COVID-19.
Telfair's cousin, former NBA guard Stephon Marbury, told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears that Dan Turner, Telfair's brother, died after being infected with the coronavirus on March 28. On Monday, The New York Post's Joseph Staszewski reported that Telfair's mother, Erica Telfair, had died as well. Telfair posted an Instagram story about his mother on Monday. Telfair's former Lincoln head coach, Dwayne "Tiny" Morton, confirmed both deaths.
Telfair, the No. 13 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, was one of the last top prospects to come out of New York City, a region known for its development of point guards. He was the subject of the 2005 documentary "Through the Fire," which detailed his rise to prominence and decision to enter the NBA Draft as a high-schooler rather than attend the University of Louisville. He ultimately played parts of 10 seasons in the NBA for eight different teams as a role player.
New York has been by far the hardest-hit area within the United States from COVID-19. The state has had over 160,000 confirmed cases and over 12,000 deaths. Even as efforts to flatten the curve and enforce social distancing have helped stabilize infections in the state, New York's dense population makes it a very vulnerable area for infection.
