National Basketball Association

Inside the friendship between Grizzlies and one young fan

Published May. 8, 2015 9:18 p.m. ET

foxsports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Will Furlong's childlike thrill didn't consider the FedExForum security. It just told him to run as fast as his little legs would take him toward the Memphis Grizzlies bench.

What he ran into -- after the security breach -- was an NBA team full of new friendships, with players millions of kids dream of befriending.

That was 2013. Two years later, the 10-year-old with Down Syndrome is still capturing the attention of the Grizzlies.

That night, Furlong broke free from a family friend and made a beeline toward his favorite player, Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph. Stopped only feet from his destination, Randolph saw the boy in a Z-Bo imitation headband yelling, "Z-Bo, Z-Bo" and saw him pointing at the shooting shirt Randolph had put on over his jersey when he left the 16-point loss to Oklahoma City.

Recognizing Furlong wanted the shirt, Randolph took it off, not knowing the cameras were catching the whole thing, and gave it to him. Both Randolph and Furlong found out when they got home it wasn't a secret. Several outlets had gotten hold of the moment and shared it with millions.

Morgan Furlong, a single father of four, Will the youngest, is in his third year as a season-ticket holder. He said Will immediately became enamored with the team.

"He just kind of took off. He watches the games. He knows the players," Furlong said. "He knows their numbers. He can tell you who they are if they're dressed in civilian clothes."

After last week's Game 5 closeout of Portland, the NBA Instagram account caught another moment that made a national buzz.

Leaving the court, Grizzlies center Marc Gasol slowed his giant strides toward the locker room to stop and greet Furlong. The grinning 7-foot-1 Gasol raised both ginormous hands to high-five the grinning young fan, who was seated atop Morgan's shoulders. The boy fived Gasol's right hand with his left and Gasol palmed the boy's head and pinched at his left cheek.

"Marc Gasol has sort of taken him under his wing, Mike Conley always chats, (former Grizzly) Mike Miller used to do a bunch last year," Furlong said. "Every game, if Z-Bo or Marc see him, they'll stop, say hi and chat with him. It's gotten to be sort of a game-ending ritual and more times than not they're winning, so it's always nice. Even when they lose, they'll come by and give him a high-five and talk to him."

As Gasol walked away, Furlong pointed at him and uttered several times, "You won." Gasol pointed back and replied, "We won."

Will has earned the moments, a tough road forged for him from the beginning. After the Furlongs lost their previous child some seven months into the pregnancy, Will's birth was preceded by several tests. Two days in the world, he had "Failure to Thrive," where babies aren't nursing well. He turned blue in a follow-up visit that sent him immediately to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, where he stayed in the ICU for three months. The first night he was there, St. Jude doctors came in in the middle of the night to tell them they thought Will had Leukemia, also.

"We're just getting gut-punched, you know," Furlong said, "day after day."

He had open-heart surgery before he was nine months old, a common procedure for Down Syndrome children, but earlier than doctors expected he would have it. He didn't have Leukemia, but still had to undergo chemotherapy. With a clean bill of health, his checkups are now down to every other year.

"He always comes. He's there before the game, also," Gasol said prior to Friday's practice. "He's always smiling and always cheering and always in great spirits. And he doesn't only come in the playoffs, only come when we play the big-name guys. He comes all the time. He wants to see us. He doesn't care who we're playing against."

While autograph hounds and other young fans wait on the other end of the floor for opposing teams, some spending big bucks on select nights to sit low and afford themselves a glimpse of LeBron James or Dwight Howard, you won't find Furlong hopping up and down to get the attention of Carmelo Anthony.

He doesn't have to hop up and down to get the Grizzlies' attention. He has it. Since getting Randolph's shirt, he's gotten Vince Carter's headband and another shirt from Gasol.

Furlong kind of does what he wants, once running onto the floor during warmups. Morgan Furlong has that moment stopped in time by a photo of Gasol talking to Randolph, with Will in Gasol's arms. Gasol has given him a shoe.

"Which is about the size of Will's leg," Furlong said.

"He always has a smile, win or lose," Gasol said. "He's always supportive and we're just happy that he's happy."

Happy and on a first-name basis with NBA stars. Carter snapped a photo with him after beating Portland last week, his first chance to talk with Will.

"It was just a genuine moment where we both enjoyed the moment, Carter said. "I saw him there and he was like, 'Vince, we won.' Anytime you can make a kid's day like that. He was right there and we had a moment."

Looks more like Furlong is making some Grizzlies' days as much as they are making his.