Portland Trail Blazers/YouTube
In 2003, Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks swooped in to assist a 13-year-old singer named Natalie Gilbert after her nerves got the best of her while singing the national anthem ahead of a playoff game. He was in the building on Wednesday when she got a second chance more than two decades later, and he didn’t need to intervene after she took full advantage of the opportunity.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is a notoriously difficult song to sing due to the vocal range you need to hit all of the requisite notes (it spans a total of one-and-a-half octaves),. That’s especially true when you’re faced with the pressure that comes with belting it out at a sporting event boasting tens of thousands of spectators and many more tuning in on television.
On April 25, 2003, the [Trail Blazers](https://brobible.com/tag/portland-trail-blazers/) invited a 13-year-old named Natalie Gilbert to do the honors ahead of their showdown with the Mavericks in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, and while she got off to a solid start, things took a turn when she stumbled over the lyrics.
An awkward moment quickly turned into an inspiring one courtesy of Maurice Cheeks, the Portland head coach who quickly made his way over to Gilbert and joined in before encouraging the rest of the arena to follow suit.
Cheeks currently serves as an assistant coach for the Knicks, and on Wednesday, he returned to Portland close to 22 years after he stepped up to help rescue the woman now known as Natalie Zito, who works as the vice president for a recycling company in the city the Trail Blazers call home.
It’s safe to assume he would have jumped in yet again if his services had been required, but he was thankfully able to watch from the sideline with a smile on his face as Natalie treated fans to a pretty flawless rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to bring things full circle.
You love to see it.