“I feel more comfortable chasing the basketball than talking to hundreds of physicians,” said Golden State Warriors forward Ronny Turiaf, after addressing the American Society of Echocardiography on Tuesday.
“I was a little nervous,” he told us by phone afterward. “I was able to shake off my nervousness and open up to them.”
Turiaf, who’s also a member of the French national basketball team, was on hand to discuss the open-heart surgery he endured after being drafted out of Gonzaga University by the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I was in the best shape of my life,” he said. Nevertheless, a physical revealed an enlarged aortic root. After six months — much less time than predicted — he was back to training again. “Every doctor that looks at my case is amazed at my recovery,” he said.
Since then, he’s founded the Ronny Turiaf Heart to Heart Foundation. “We hope to start somewhere,” he said. “We’re helping people raise awareness of heart-related issues.”
So is he still rooting for his former team in the NBA Finals? “I’m rooting for my friends to enjoy themselves,” he said. “Of course, I’m pulling for the Lakers over the Magic, but I want a good series.”
