CHICAGO -- Matthew Wright has always been a stand-up guy, a selfless, hardworking baller everybody wants to be teammates with.
And he's an even better human being off the court, one that will have an outright entry into the Hall-of-Fame for loving and devoted sons.
Currently a free agent, the 6-foot-4, 200-lb wing will forgo the 2025-26 Japan B. League season in order to take care of an urgent personal business bigger than basketball.
Life.
Matthew's mom, Ofelia Agustin, is sick and wants to go home to her beloved Tarlac, that slice of paradise she left behind 50 years ago when Ofelia was only 18 years young.
"Health permitting," Wright told me via text message that they will fly in from Canada this coming Monday. Being his mother's primary caregiver, Wright has "held off on looking for teams."
ON HOLD
Although his focus for now is his mom's health, Matthew is leaving his career options open and would resume playing if the circumstances would allow.
"It's possible I'm returning to the PBA," he said.
If that happens, Phoenix, which holds his rights, can sign Wright to a contract and then list him on the roster which will make him eligible to play immediately.
Presently unattached to any team, Matthew can now freely play for Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming SEA Games in December, a tour of duty he intends to fulfill after having already committed to coach Norman Black.
It's wonderful news to our title-defense aspirations.
An elite playmaker, Wright is a two-time PBA All-Star and a key player in Japan where he once scored a career-high 37 points and also had a career-high 12 assists in a game.
ROLLING THUNDER
While playing the 2024-25 season for the Kawasaki Brave Thunders, last-place finishers in the eight-team Central Conference, Wright was among the few bright lights of an 18-42 campaign where he averaged 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Even at age 34, Matthew remains quick as a rebuttal. And he can still swivel those eyes like a chameleon, allowing him to see things on the court very few can.
For now, though, all of that hardcourt pizzaz is in the backseat.
Indeed, the only thing greater than a mother's gift of love is a son's attempt to reciprocate it in a time of need.
Go, Matthew Wright. This team called humanity is rooting for you and your mom.
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