CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sliding on a red hat mirroring the one made famous by the guy who’s extremely popular this time of year, Terry Rozier puts the finishing touches on his special wardrobe.
Already sporting a long-sleeved red sweatsuit with a black T-shirt with the words “Merry Terry Christmas” emblazoned on it, the Charlotte Hornets guard readies himself for the big moment. Rozier’s smile seemingly mirrors the length of a basketball court as he approaches the door inside an apartment complex in Charlotte. Both hands are loaded with bags stuffed with gifts, and he places them on the floor before walking into a welcoming hug of an unsuspecting recipient.
This is a different kind of assist for Rozier, and far more important than any pass he’ll whip to a teammate for a bucket. He was delivering presents wrapped in hope, his way of providing a little holiday cheer to those who are underprivileged and underserved.
“It’s extremely important, just going back to the times when I was younger,” Rozier said. “Obviously, around this time, Christmas, we obviously didn’t have all the gifts we wanted. So my biggest thing for the ‘Merry Terry’ is just to be a blessing, to another family, to other people. And if you’ve got a chance to shine a light on somebody, why not do it?
“And that’s why I’m trying to be familiar with the communities out here, and touch base with people out here, and just let them know that I’ve got their back and it’s a blessing to be a blessing to somebody else.”
Rozier beams when he thinks about the path he’s been lucky enough to carve, one that’s given him and his family things he dreamed of as a kid growing up in northeast Ohio. Born in Youngstown and raised in a gritty section of the city before being uprooted to Cleveland to escape a potentially violent situation, Rozier is grateful.
His journey to the NBA is what inspires him to do things like hosting his weeklong fourth annual “Merry Terry Christmas” earlier this month, where his foundation donated to five different organizations that work closely with aiding single mothers, families and children in need.
“I come from nothing, man,” Rozier said, “and I mean that from the heart. I’m extremely humble. I care about my people, I care about the less fortunate, I care about everybody. So if I‘ve got a chance to be a blessing to somebody, I’m going to do it. My foundation, they do a great job of helping me connect with a lot of families. So that’s what it’s all about.”
These beneficiaries get to see the other side of Rozier and not the gruff-looking, scowl-wearing version who roams the court firing off jumpers and contorting to the basket. Deep down in his 6-foot-1 frame, the 28-year-old has an authentic soul and thoroughly enjoys making others happy.
Easily, he’s among the Hornets’ most-liked players and has slowly settled into a leadership role in his three-plus seasons with the franchise since arriving in 2019.
“I’ve known (Rozier) for a minute, even before I came to the league,” LaMelo Ball said. “He’s always been like that. Real down-to-earth guy, has everybody’s back, is just always trying to give back.”
With Rozier, there’s a reason for that. He’s experienced quite a ride.
“He’s just a genuinely good person and that’s what I’m most proud of,” said Rozier’s mother, Gina Tucker. “His mannerisms.”
Times were tough early
To understand Rozier, you have to look back on the winding road he’s taken to get here and how fortunate he is to persevere. He grew up in a violent area of Youngstown mostly without his father, Terry Rozier Sr., who was sent to prison on an eight-year sentence within two months of Rozier’s birth.
Tucker had her struggles, too, dealing with drug addiction. But Rozier’s dad returning to prison for a 13-year sentence on an involuntary manslaughter charge for his role as an accomplice in a robbery set off a chain reaction of life-altering events.
“I think that’s what kind of made Terry … it put that fire under him,” his mother said.
Rozier was unhappy when he had to move to another locale to stay with his grandmother, Amanda Tucker, at age 6. He couldn’t stay in Youngstown because of threats related to his father’s crimes and Gina Tucker thought relocation was the only solution.
“Me having to send Terry to Cleveland ... kind of ripped both our hearts apart because me and Terry were stuck like glue,” his mother said. “That’s my best friend. It kind of put a wedge in relationships ... because he just didn’t want to be there.”
Rozier slept in his coat for days before even unpacking his clothes.
“But look at God,” said Tucker, who wrote a book called the “The Blaq Print” to chronicle the trials and tribulations she’s dealt with through the years. “It worked out.”
Rozier has an older sister, Tre’Dasia Tucker and a 21-year-old brother, J’Maine.
Tre’Dasia has cerebral palsy and it affects her mobility. Determined to be there for her, Rozier often provided transportation for Tre’Dasia in his own extraordinary fashion.
“Most of the time when Terry was younger he carried his sister on his back,” his mother explained. “After games, his legs were still kind of weak sometimes, but he would put her on his back.
“It’s just like he had to grow up with people taunting her because she has a rare case where physically she’s disabled and mentally she was OK. So, you face a lot of adversity. But when you push through and tell people your story and what you’ve been through, it could always help others.”
Those assists remain special to this day for Rozier.
“She’s always been my motivation,” Rozier said. “It’s just me thinking of her just waking up, knowing that she can’t do a lot of things that people can do physically (although) she’s super smart. She’s just always been my motivation and that’s kind of what my foundation is about, too. Touching other people that might have cerebral palsy.”
‘You can overcome’
Rozier gets a kick out of seeing the reactions on people’s faces when he’s able to distribute his special offerings. The daily schedule of an NBA player is a grind and in just a brief second he can alter multiple lives forever.
“(The foundation does) a lot, but when you can actually do it yourself and be there,” Rozier said, “and you let them know it’s from the heart, that (stuff) hits some.”
It’s because of the nearly three-decade-old odyssey he’s experienced. Rozier’s eyes have already seen things that would make others squeamish. There were a few times during his youth when he didn’t eat a bite all day, spending it hungry and unsure when his next meal would be.
Those sad occasions are gone now, replaced by happier moments created in part thanks to his basketball skills. He’s in the first season of a four-year, $96 million extension and his current pact comes on the heels of the three-year, $58 million deal he inked in 2019 as part of a sign-and-trade with Boston that sent Kemba Walker to the Celtics.
“Oh my God I get very … I can’t explain the feeling when I think about everything that we’ve been through and what we have now,” Tucker, who serves as executive director of the Terry Rozier Foundation, said. “I’m just so grateful. ... He’s not that little boy in that environment anymore and he wants to let other kids know that regardless of your environment and what you go through, you can go and be whatever you want to be.
“Because it’s very rare that you go to the NBA, especially from Youngstown, Ohio. So, we pride ourselves on manifesting and praying. ... I always told them when they were younger, ‘If you want to do it, go do it.’ ”
Her son took those words to heart.
“Just growing up like a lot of kids — less fortunate to have things,” Rozier said, “and now I’m put on a platform where I’m making a lot of money, I’m this public figure, I can go back to where I’m from in my neighborhood and spread that love, and show the kids that I was in your shoes and that anybody can make it.
“That is my message mainly for the youth, just letting them know that I was once in your shoes, I was once in this neighborhood, I was once around a lot of craziness in an environment. But you can overcome all that, you can surpass all that.”
