For most athletes, the ‘limelight moment’ occurs on the field or while playing. It could be an inspiring performance or a highlight from a game won. But some athletes and individuals suddenly get hit by adversity. And that changes them, completely. For Dorian Finney-Smith, the latter was heartbreaking. While the hoopster grew up a nervous kid, he also had his elder brother, Ra-Shawn. The now Lakers forward looked up to him as a “leader” along with his sibling. But in 2008, one haunted night changed everything.

In a documentary released by the Nets in 2023, Finney-Smith’s family spoke about the tragedy. His elder brother, a wide receiver at I.C. Norcom High, was shot during a party. But for the longest time, his mother wasn’t aware of the trauma the 31-year-old carried. “Doe Doe was with him and I didn’t even know that for a long time. He didn’t even tell me like he’s seen him get shot,” she revealed.

The image continued to live in Dorian’s head.

Back then, mental health wasn’t as openly discussed as it is today. So Finney-Smith had two choices. Either he could succumb to the pain, or he could carry on Ra-Shawn’s legacy, who was a hard-working individual who strived for his goal of playing football.

“I seen him at rock bottom, but that hurt didn’t hinder him. That hurt motivated him. It motivated them all. When his brother passed, he took on a totally different identity. It was like y’all not going to stop me for nothing,” Dorian Finney-Smith’s friend revealed during the documentary.

But for the former Mavericks forward, the memory of his brother served a purpose far greater than just making basketball his story.

Dorian Finney-Smith realized he needed to leave…

At the time of Ra-Shawn “Peanut” Finney’s untimely death, living in Portland was dangerous. According to Herald Tribune, Ra-Shawn’s incident was the fourth time a high school football player from the area fell to gun violence in the span of a year. With the person he looked up to gone, Dorian had to alter himself fully.

“He grew up right before my eyes,” his mother Desiree emotionally reminisced. Playing for his brother, whose name the forward has inscribed on his chest, reminded him that working hard to achieve his dreams was necessary.

But more importantly, the difficult situation also led to a realization.

“After that happened, I just knew I wanted to be in Portland no more. You know my daughter grew up around here. So I put all my marbles in one basket because if I’m giving my all, then what are we doing here?”, Dorian Finney-Smith said.

The urgency to move from Portland saw DFS dedicate himself to basketball completely. In his three years at Florida State, the forward’s improvement caught the eyes of scouts. He went from averaging 6.3 points as a freshman to 14.7 as a senior. While he didn’t have his name called during the 2016 draft, Dorian Finney-Smith signed with the Mavs to play in the Summer League.

“He was the leader of my household,” Dorian Finney-Smith said about his brother Ra-Shawn. “He was just, everybody has roles in the family and he was that leader. I miss him… That was him. Whenever we played one-on-one, he couldn’t play basketball at all, but he just loved competition. Hopefully, I can have him living with me, keep his name alive.”

With the opportunity to change his life in his sights, DFS never looked back. Now, he is a 9-year veteran in the NBA and has successfully changed his and his family’s lives, for the greater good. Such is the painful yet inspiring tale of Dorian Finney-Smith.