NBA draft pick Kris Dunn has Richmond Highway roots

Kris Dunn is interviewed on ESPN after being selected fifth overall in the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kris Dunn has perhaps the grittiest backstory of any player in this year’s NBA draft. He overcame an often-dismal childhood — one that at its lowest point saw him and his older brother living alone while their mother was jailed — to get picked fifth overall last night by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Most of the first nine years of Dunn’s life were spent along Richmond Highway. He lived in the Mount Vernon Square Apartments on Arlington Drive in Hybla Valley with his mother and brother.

It was not a happy time for Dunn or his family.

If you aren’t familiar with Dunn’s story, there are many fine articles about him. This piece by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman is a good place to start, and it talks about Dunn’s time on Arlington Drive.

Here’s an abbreviated version: Dunn’s mom left his father while he was a toddler, and he had no idea who his dad was growing up. His mom struggled to raise Dunn and his brother, and ended up in jail multiple times, often leaving the boys to fend for themselves for a couple days until she was released.

When Dunn was in 4th grade, his mom ended up doing a longer stretch in jail than usual. Dunn and his brother hid the fact they were alone because they feared being put in foster care. They gambled for money, hustled older kids in one-on-one games and even stole when necessary.

“It was literally hell,” Dunn told Sports Illustrated in an interview. “There probably wasn’t one day we smiled.”

Eventually Dunn’s father located him and his brother, and was able to take custody of the boys. They relocated with him to New London, Conn., where Dunn now had to learn to live with a father who was a stranger, as well as a stepmother and step siblings he didn’t know existed.

By his own description, the transition was not easy, but eventually Dunn blossomed into a top prep basketball player and earned a scholarship to Providence College.  But in the middle of Dunn’s college career, he was dealt another setback when his mother died.

Dunn broke out his third year at Providence and earned Big East Player of the Year honors. He shocked many by skipping the NBA draft and staying in college for another year. The decision paid off, as he repeated as Big East Player of the Year and then graduated  with his classmates this past May.

Dunn’s emotional interview with ESPN  — as well as his custom-made JCP Penny suit and Gucci shoes — have become one of the most-talked about parts of last night’s draft. Asked by a reporter about what it means to overcome so much to get to this moment, Dunn struggled for words.

“Probably one of the feelings ever,” Dunn said through tears.