The Air Force brought this family to the Philly area. The Sixers honored them and others on Thursday.
Noah Solomon, a 10-year-old Moorestown native, became the star of the show, after hitting the game-winner in the halftime event featuring military members.
Brandon Garcia expected to spend Thursday afternoon watching basketball from the sidelines at Xfinity Mobile Arena. He figured he might help out with some activities, but never expected to play himself.
Then he was told to bring athletic shoes.
Garcia, an Air Force service member approaching his 20th year in the military, was among approximately 30 personnel from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst invited to participate in the Sixers’ Stars & Stripes Court of Dreams on Thursday.
Instead of watching professionals play, Garcia joined fellow servicemembers for three-on-three basketball games on the same floor where the Sixers would face the Toronto Raptors hours later.
For Garcia, the opportunity also carried a connection to his family.
Originally from Sacramento, Calif., Garcia joined the Air Force in 2007 and has spent much of his career moving between assignments with his wife and two children, now 17 and 15.
His son developed an interest in the NBA, following players through the NBA 2K video games, and became a Sixers fan after the family moved to the Philadelphia area. Garcia, who played recreational basketball with his brother-in-law growing up, began following the team through his son’s enthusiasm.
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The celebration continued during the Sixers’ 123-112 victory over Toronto. More than 500 servicemembers received tickets for military appreciation night, and a first quarter video highlighted the afternoon’s action while teasing the halftime entertainment — a showdown featuring winners of the earlier contests.
The halftime competition ended with the blue team defeating the white team, 10-8. Ten-year-old Noah Solomon of Moorestown made a shot from the right baseline as time expired, providing another memorable moment on the NBA floor.
Thursday’s experience offered something different from the demands of military life.
Marc Jackson helped lead the afternoon activities alongside Franklin, the team’s mascot. Jackson, the former Sixers player and Temple alumnus whose family includes several veterans, said he appreciated the opportunity to spend time with the participants and help offer a reprieve from their everyday responsibilities with an afternoon playing on an NBA floor.
“It gives them something else to look forward to other than what they’re doing for our country,” Jackson said.
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Retired Navy Lt. Brad Snyder, a Paralympic gold medalist who lost his eyesight while serving in Afghanistan in 2011, also participated in the event.
Snyder said military service and competitive athletics share similar demands, particularly when it comes to preparation, discipline, and teamwork.
“You get a team together, you know you’re going to go into adversity,” Snyder said. “And it’s that teamwork, it’s that discipline. It’s those core virtues that are going to get you through that experience.”
After his injury ended his military career, Snyder turned to competitive sports as he adjusted to life outside the Navy. He said athletics helped him understand that the qualities he developed through military service extended beyond his uniform.
Snyder brought that perspective to Thursday’s event, encouraging participants to appreciate an opportunity that few basketball fans receive.
“It’s one thing for me to say, ‘Hey, it’s important for us all to express gratitude,’” Snyder said. “It’s another thing for two organizations with huge platforms to say, ‘We’re going to lend that platform to that gratitude.’”
Garcia hadn’t expected to play on the Sixers’ court when he learned about the opportunity. By the end of the afternoon, he had experienced the game from a perspective he previously knew only as a spectator. It was an experience connected to the sport his son had helped him appreciate — and one he could share with his family long after leaving the arena.
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