Brian grant parkinsons foundation

Brian Grant is used to being in control. As a power forward for the Portland Trail Blazers and four other National Basketball Association (NBA) teams—the Sacramento Kings, the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Phoenix Suns—from 1994 to 2006, he made life tough for opponents close to the basket, leaping for rebounds, denying positions, closing up passing lanes, blocking shots.

His on-court confrontations with Hall of Fame power forward Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz were described as "one of the most physical and contentious one-on-one rivalries in the NBA," according to Trail Blazer video archives.

But sitting in a neurologist's office in Portland, OR, in 2008, as a doctor told him he had early-onset Parkinson's disease, he felt absolutely helpless.

Brian grant parkinsons foundation

"I just stared out the window," recalls Grant, who was then 36. When Grant didn't respond, the neurologist asked him what he was thinking. "I joked, 'I think your scale must be off because it said I was eight or ni