Marc Saint Louis

[the Sports ON Tap @thesportsontap]

In 2003, the most hated team in the NBA did the kindest thing anyone has ever done on a basketball court.

April 25, 2003. Rose Garden, Portland. Game 3 of the first round against Dallas. The Blazers are down 2-0 and facing elimination from the moment they wake up.

That Blazers team had a nickname. The Jail Blazers.

They were, at the time, maybe the least likable team in professional sports. Arrests. Suspensions. A roster full of guys the national media treated as villains. Portland fans were exhausted by them.

Before the game, a 13 year old girl named Natalie Gilbert walks to center court to sing the national anthem in front of 19,980 people.

What nobody in the building knew is that she was sick. She had the flu. She later said she just didn't feel like herself at all that day.

She gets a few lines in.

And then her brain goes blank.

She sings "star's last gleaming" instead of "twilight's last gleaming," realizes it instantly, and stops. She looks around. She puts her hand to her face.

Thirteen years old. Twenty thousand people. National television. Frozen.

There is no worse feeling available to a human being.

And then a man walks out of the Portland huddle.

Maurice Cheeks, the head coach, minutes away from a playoff elimination game, leaves his team, walks across the floor, puts his arm around her shoulder and says, "C'mon."

Then he starts singing with her.

Now understand something. Maurice Cheeks cannot sing. At all. He is not remotely trying to rescue the performance.

He's just refusing to let a kid stand there alone.

He keeps his arm around her the whole way. He feeds her the next words. And within a few seconds, all 19,980 people in that building stand up and sing it with them.

A moment that was going to define a little girl's life in the worst possible way became the exact opposite.

Dan Patrick wrote at the time that Cheeks' simple actions had become the defining moment of the entire playoffs.

They went on Jay Leno together. CNN. Good Morning America. It became one of the first truly viral NBA moments, years before that word meant anything.

Portland lost the game. They lost the series. Cheeks finished his Blazers tenure with a fairly ordinary record and was eventually let go.

Now here's the ending.

In March 2025, almost 22 years later, Maurice Cheeks came back to Portland as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.

The Blazers found Natalie Gilbert.

She's 35 now. Married. Goes by Natalie Zito. She's also, as it turns out, a Blazers season ticket holder.

They brought her back to sing the anthem again.

She nailed it. The whole building erupted. And the camera cut to Cheeks on the sideline, beaming like a proud father.

The two of them met before the game and hugged.

What she said afterward is why this story matters. She explained that she'd been made fun of a lot as a kid, and that in the moment she felt most helpless and hopeless, a stranger walked right over with no hesitation.

"This moment changed my life."

And then she said something even better. That she wouldn't go back and change any of it. That seeing him again and finding out he's still the same standup guy proved it was all real.

Twenty two years. One arm around a shoulder.

Follow @thesportsontap, we post a story like this every day.

[Noah Kahan @NoahKahan]

Made a hole in one today at @BostonGolfClub

This is the best day of my life

[Tom Brady @TomBrady]

Happy Birthday America 🇺🇸 Here’s to 250 more!

@ShadowLion

[Marc Saint Louis @MarcSaintLouis]

@GlennDOrdway The Mookie trade was worse but trading another potential HOFer to your Division rival feels like a gut punch.

[Kevin Boilard @KevinBoilard]

this is like an NFL quarterback hitting a Hail Mary to an MLB pitcher who then throws a perfect fastball for a strike

[Korir Titus @KorirTitus_]

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe becomes the first person ever to win a regular marathon in under two hours, setting a new world record at the London Marathon in 1:59:30!

[CITIUS MAG @CitiusMag]

How we got to Sub-2 📊

Sabastian Sawe’s world record of 1:59:30 at the 2026 London Marathon was achieved thanks to a massive negative split of 60:29-59:01. Sawe really made his money from 30K on, posting a 27:36 10K from 30K to 40K before picking it up EVEN MORE, closing the final 2.2K on 4:17 mile pace 🤯

In total, that’s 4:33 mile pace for just under two hours 😮‍💨

[OldTimeHardball @OleTimeHardball]

41 years ago today. The greatest round in boxing history. Hagler vs Hearns

[Big East Rewind & Hoops 24/7 @bigeastrewind]

Here’s another view.

Unapologetically.

Cannot get enough.

[Virginia Men's Basketball @UVAMensHoops]

OH MY GOD ELIJAH GERTRUDE 🔨

📺 @accnetwork

#GoHoos

[Stats @redsoxstats]

This shot from NFL Films is unbelievable

[Robert Griffin III @RGIII]

THIS IS WHAT SPORTS IS ALL ABOUT.

Oregon just lost by 34 points and after the game an Oregon Football equipment manager approached D’Angelo Ponds and gave him the game ball from his pick 6 interception to start the game. Even in defeat, who you are as a person should shine through.

THAT’S SPORTSMANSHIP.

THAT’S PURE CLASS.

This is what football is all about.

You love to see it.

#Sportsmanship #RG3 #Football

[Marc Saint Louis @MarcSaintLouis]

@CoachSelf2000 Irma Thomas

[Marc Saint Louis @MarcSaintLouis]

@MLFootball Lil’ Ed Reed

[Kirk Herbstreit @KirkHerbstreit]

IS THIS THE BEST KICK WE’VE EVER SEEN ON GAMEDAY???

A $750k kick!!! 😱😱😱

[ًBoltUpYo @BoltUpYo]

Rest in Peace, Greg Gumbel.

I’ll always remember his call of Antonio Cromartie’s record-setting return, the longest in NFL history.

[B/R Football @brfootball]

Messi's first hat trick with Inter Miami 🎩

(via @MLS)

[Marc Saint Louis @MarcSaintLouis]

@dannykanell Poor Danny. Making excuses. Should be preaching next man up. And btw, no Warrick did not get in against UVa. HNY!

[Marc Saint Louis @MarcSaintLouis]

@tvabby @TheGarden Knicks legend and Senator, Bill Brady

[𝙍𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙮 ☘️ @CelticsRiley]

The moment Marcus Smart solidified himself as a Celtics LEGEND ☘️