“Married my best friend in 2022” – This was one of the popular statements that Kyle Anderson made about his wife, Crystal Marie Oquendo. Apart from their Amangiri-adventure engagement, closely knit wedding ceremony in the Bahamas, and high school connection, the hoops community barely knows anything about the 31-year-old’s happily wedded life. However, about two years later, the Warriors‘ newest member has revealed a cute hidden story behind his marriage. Not to forget Marie’s healing journey with Anderson’s life-altering moment in their relationship.

In the NBA world, we come across plenty of wholesome marriages. One of them is when the high school girlfriends have witnessed their loved one grow into a star and ended up marrying them. Slo Mo‘s marriage is one such example. While we already knew that the couple dated each other since high school, there wasn’t any clarity on the exact wedding date.

However, in a warm trip down memory lane, Kyle Anderson has re-shared his 2011 high school picture, in which he posed with Crystal, on his Instagram story. Along with the photo, he added a playful caption, “Met her 4 months before this & really married this girl lol aint even go to prom with her.” This whimsical note from the hooper is proof of how romantic their relationship has shaped in the last 13 years.

Crystal has an even more expressive and emotional message when it comes to her marriage. Unlike Kyle Anderson, who simply informed the hoops community that he married his best friend, Crystal, on the other end, wrote, “Hands down the BEST day of my life (after Kameron’s birth, of course).” She’s talking about their son. Kameron, who’s still very young, has autism, and the couple has strived to raise awareness, increasing support for the children and families going through the same.

Coming back to the Crystal’s tribute to her wedding, she continued, “This weekend was priceless and fulllll of love. I’m still not over it and I’ll be posting pictures for the rest of the year, maybe longer.. Is it too early for a vow renewal? Because I’m not ready for this to be over.” Anyway, this relationship doesn’t just stop at emotional notes but also stands rock solid during life-altering times.

Crystal Marie stands strong with Kyle Anderson during a pivotal moment in his life

Kyle Anderson had almost everything in his life. A loving partner and a successful career in the NBA. In short, he was living the American dream until a ground-breaking piece of news reached him. Kyle’s mom, Suzanne, who was on the hunt to find out more about her ancestry, discovered that she has her roots in China. Kyle’s great-grandfather, a Chinese man, married a Jamaican woman and settled in the US.

Before Suzanne set out on her journey to find her roots, she said, “I’ve been searching for my relatives for almost 4 years now and the day is finally here.” Importantly, she wasn’t alone on this journey. Nervous, Kyle was accompanied by his supportive wife, Crystal, as they flew 8000 miles to Shenzhen, China.

The Anderson family was welcomed by a large group of families with a bouquet. Following this, they reached out to one of the relatives’ houses to meet everyone. After receiving the Chinese name, Li Kaier, and obtaining Chinese citizenship, Kyle said, “That journey to find my roots was extremely significant. It let me know where my roots are and how deep they run. Knowing that my roots are planted in China touched me deeply.”

While all this was a hot topic among fans at the time, it was truly an emotional rollercoaster. Lucky enough for the Warriors’ forward, he had his wife to lean on. What do you make of the couple’s wholesome relationship? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.