CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — The Indiana Pacers are in the NBA Finals and Lowcountry native Aaron Nesmith is a big reason why they are there. You can consider him a rising star, or maybe say he’s already there. Regardless, the trajectory for the Porter-Gaud grad and West Ashley native since landing in Indianapolis is sky-high.
“Not my brother Aaron that I shared a room with growing up. And then all of a sudden, I find him on this new stage. All the pieces were always there. Realizing how limitless his potential was the realization that had to come to pass,” said his brother Eddie, who is one year older and also graduated Porter-Gaud. Eddie, was certainly not the basketball player that Aaron was. “It was very clear from very young age he was talented. He was promoted to varsity, the last year I played at Porter. It was like- oh, he’s a big deal, I’m happy for the young man. A lot of people set out with this dream. Its common trope I hear, some make it, some don’t,” Eddie said.
If you thought the Nesmith family was put on cloud nine last week when the younger brother punched an NBA Finals ticket, You’d think wrong. They already were on cloud nine from Eddie’s accomplishment one week earlier. “I studied molecular biology and health policy at Harvard, then graduated 2 weeks ago with my MD at UC San Francisco, now I’m doing residency in anesthesiology at Boston Medical Center. Calendar is tight right now. Looking, maybe Game 4 I can squeeze my way over there but time permitting. I’d love to be there to celebrate what manifests a great outcome for them.”
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When you see terms like “manifests” in relation to hoops, you are on a different level than most. If you score 20 points in the 4th quarter of an NBA Eastern Conference Finals game, you also are on a different level than most- in a very different game. The common denominator there is Mom and Dad.
“Our parents had this farm-like situation. Ideally, I wouldn’t be waking up on a Saturday morning in a Charleston summer to go outside, pick up sticks, knock down trees, prepare the space for coy farming essentially. Instills the idea of having a vision, having a plan, and then being able to act and execute on said plan. Despite Aaron and I leading very different lives—that is the common theme and thread. I have to give my parents credit for that. Obviously, I’ve known Aaron my whole life, I’ve seen the entire trajectory of his life. I think, seeing his tenacity and attitude of “you can not quit” and taking it to the highest level possible is so exciting. Stressful because I want him to succeed so badly but at the same time, I’m just ecstatic that he’s hitting every goal he set out to accomplish,” said Eddie.
They will always be side by side at the top of whatever they happen to be doing.