by Cory Wright
June 17, 2017 | BrooklynNets.com
There’s a little guy that’s making a big impact at HSS Training Center.
Four-foot-three Austin Acy, the son of Brooklyn Nets forward Quincy Acy, is doing drills on the Nets practice court. He’s working on his handles by dribbling around cones and hitting shots from the free throw line – 15 feet from the basket, which is over three times Austin’s height.
But he’s a welcome presence on the floor and an energetic one – kind of like his dad.
“He has a personality that illuminates the room every time he walks in,” Acy said. “He’s just high energy. Everyone that meets him is shocked at how much he just goes. There’s never a down moment with him. It’s always something. He’s just a great spirit. Coach Adam [Harrington] he says all the time, your kid has a great spirit – I love him. That’s a common factor that a lot of people describe him as. He’s a great spirited kid. That’s just him.”
Basketball isn’t their only bond, but it’s a strong one and Acy has shared the NBA experience with his son. Follow the Nets forward on Instagram or Snapchat and you’ll see his protégé putting up – and hitting – those shots from the foul line at HSS Training Center.
And if that seems advanced for a five year old, it’s because it is, but that’s just the natural progression for a kid who’s been in the gym with NBA players since he was two.
“His mom played basketball, so I think basketball is literally in his DNA,” Acy said. “He loves it. I never push him. I never want him to feel like I’m making him play basketball. Whatever he wants to play, he can play. But I think basketball has a special place between us and he loves it. I question if he loves it more than me. He’s always asking me to go to the gym and it’s special.”
Oh, and Acy’s been going with a ‘no easy buckets’ approach.
Given Acy’s nomadic journey and that Austin lives in California, the father-son time is at a premium during the season. The Nets help out where they can and let Austin tag along during their recent Golden State-Sacramento road trip, which Acy was grateful for.
“It’s tough being a dad in the NBA, but every chance you get to spend time, you got to do it because it’s important and I can tell how much it affects him,” Acy said. “Whenever he misses me for a long time he’ll come up and hug me and be like ‘I love you dad.’ And I’m like ‘I love you too son’ he needs that time and any extra time I have, he gets it all.”
Austin is still young enough that Power Rangers mean more to him than Power Rankings and given the way kids look up to NBA players, the 6’7 Acy may as well be 10 ft. tall. But even with his dad as his hero – and the chance to rub shoulders with NBA stars – he doesn’t fully know the impact he’s had on his dad.
“He changed my whole mindset, my whole way of thinking and my whole approach to life,” Acy said. “I owe him everything. He has no clue and how much he’s affected me and how much I’ve grown. He’s my life.”