Golden State Warriors legend, Thomas Nicholas Meschery’s journey as a cancer survivor, is a testament to the transformative power of love. I mean, can you imagine the man who once chased Darrall Imhoff with a chair, now extolling the power of love? But, as they say, to be loved is to be changed. This is how the man, once known for his intensity and physicality on the court, resorted to love to bring light to his life when he was in the depths of suicidal depression after a cancer diagnosis in 2005.

Melanie Merchant, his wife, was the one who helped him fight cancer and embrace life. But another force helped the 85-year-old find his sense of purpose – his love for basketball, a game he dominated during the 1960s. Nicknamed Mad Manchurian, Tom Meschery was a power forward who played six seasons with the Golden State Warriors.

He also played four with the Seattle SuperSonics before wrapping up his NBA journey with a two-year stint as an assistant under Lenny Wilkens in Portland in 1976. Three decades later, his former team, the Golden State Warriors, rekindled his passion for basketball when his son bought him an NBA League Pass. He fell in love with the sport all over again, thanks to the Warriors’ 2006–07 team, which he described as an “uptempo, free-wheeling and stylistic squad.”

In a touching gesture, the Golden State Warriors honored him by retiring his jersey number 14 in 2010, making him the first Warrior to have his jersey retired. This marked the beginning of a special bond between Meschery and the organization, as he was then invited to games, introduced to players, and even had the privilege of riding in all four championship parades. But how did all this help Meschery get a second life?

When the Golden State Warriors became more than a nostalgic home for Meschery

As a result of all these special new bonds, the franchise might have inadvertently helped him overcome cancer. “When I think back on my cancer, love saved me and helped cure me. But I think the Warriors had a little something to do with it, too,” Meschery told Jason Quick of The Athletic. However, while he has come a long way, there is still something that bothers him.

As mentioned, Meschery wasn’t exactly known for his patient temperament back during his days in the league. Instead, his aggressive style had earned him a reputation that even former Golden State Warriors president Rick Welts described as “terrifying.” Back then, he was as popular for his on-court altercations as he was for his skills. And this dichotomy of his on-court persona and his off-court character still perplexes him. “It always shocked me that I often reacted so violently on the court. I know in my heart I was not a violent man,” said the Russian native.

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