Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith has been reunited with his father nearly 30 years after he was incarcerated following a January 25, 1995 slaying.
Elbert Smith was convicted of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and use in commission of a firearm on March 29, 1996 after Willie Anderson II was shot dead by Diefen McGann in a debt collection gone wrong, according to court records cited by the Dallas Morning News.
Smith was present for the incident and at one point lunged at Anderson with a knife, but did not pull the trigger. His court appointed attorney, however, advised him against taking a five-year plea deal, and he was sentenced to 44 years imprisonment in trial.
After a total of 28 years, 9 months and 10 days incarcerated in several Virginia prisons, Smith was finally able to embrace his now 30-year-old son on Tuesday.
‘We just hugged,’ Brooklyn Net Finney-Smith told the Dallas Morning News. ‘A long, long hug. So many questions and stuff that we have. It was very emotional.’
Dorian Finney-Smith said reuniting with his father was ‘the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten’
Finney-Smith, seen attempting a layup vs. the Nuggets, is enjoying a strong season
He added, ‘This is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten. Besides the births of my kids, this is up there with the best days I’ve ever had.’
Finney-Smith was granted a day off by the Nets to travel to his native Virginia for the meeting.
His father was actually granted parole in July, but his release was delayed in part due to Virginia’s ‘overcrowded, understaffed’ correctional system, according to the Morning News.
Finney-Smith, who was traded to the Nets earlier this year, spent the first seven years of his career with the Mavericks, and the team played a significant role in his father’s eventual release.
The University of Florida product told (Mavs owner) Mark Cuban Companies chief of staff Jason Lutin about his father’s situation, and Lutin in turn reached out to former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, who took on Smith’s case pro bono.
‘Thank you to the Mavs family for this. This is past basketball. You can’t even try to put into words what they did in this situation,’ Finney-Smith said.
Finney-Smith and the Nets will take on the Knicks on Wednesday night as they look for their 14th win of the season.
He is enjoying a strong year, averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
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