NEWS AND EVENTS

Damien Wilkins on surprise in-game gender reveal

When Damien Wilkins looked up during a timeout and saw his fiancée Jasmine Mitchell on the court, he assumed she was there for a Pacers trivia thing that they did with fans or something.

So, he ignored what was happening and went back to focusing on what his coaches were saying about the game.

But then, he saw a sign that said ‘it’s a boy.’

It took a second to sink in.

In the video posted by the Pacers he can be seen glancing at the screen, looking away and then doing a hilarious double take.

“I was totally caught off guard,” he said. “She did a good job with that one. That was impressive.”

But when it did, as everyone was still talking basketball around him?

“I was like ‘oh (expletive)’. That’s us! The video gets my reaction totally perfectly. My reaction said it all.”

Despite the life-changing news, Wilkins said he managed to stay locked into the game. But he of course couldn’t shake the feeling of being excited and nervous after the surprise reveal.

“Yesterday morning she told me she had a dentist appointment at 9 a.m. so she left the house and me presumably thinking she’s going to the dentist. But she (went) to the ultrasound.”

Mitchell gave the gender results to the Pacers’ director of player development, who set the reveal at the game – where they both learned they were having a baby boy.

Wilkins isn’t the only NBA player to have a creative gender reveal this week. Langston Galloway dunked a basketball in front of his teammates – with his wife watching – to reveal that he was also having a boy.

Wilkins said he had spoken with his fiancée about a gender reveal, but hadn’t been sure about the whole thing – even if it’s trendy right now.

“But I was super happy,” he said. “We’re blessed.”