Heat Summer League Player Reunited With Family After 5 Years Before March Madness

The Miami Heat officially signed Russian center Vladislav Goldin to a two-way contract Wednesday. This has been an emotional rollercoaster of a year for him, ranging from a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament and reuniting with his family to getting an opportunity to play in the NBA.

Goldin, 24, hadn't seen his parents in five years before reuniting with them just before the end of Michigan's regular season. "When the door opened and I saw them walking to me, it was like I lost all the oxygen in my lungs,” he said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press.

Goldin's parents live in Russia. They reside just a few hours away from the turbulent Russia-Ukraine border. Combined with the COVID virus and the distance, travel from the United States to Russia has been dangerous and difficult over the past 5 years. At the peak of the pandemic in the summer of 2020, Goldin stated he needed "four or five" planes just to get home. The promising Heat prospect was able to play in front of his parents for the first time in his collegiate career in March. Goldin knew exactly what this meant to his parents.

"Everything is like a dream to them," he said while explaining their disbelief for his life in America. His parents returned home before the start of the NCAA Tournament and they keep up with his life through any screen they can find.

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