I met Dennis in Chicago in February 1988 when the NBA All Star Weekend came to town. It was known that the players were staying at the Hyatt downtown so I went to get some autographs and say hello. Being from Boston originally, my goal was to gather Boston Celtic autographs. I stood next to a boy about 13 who was a diehard Lakers fan. I obviously had hit a sore spot when I asked if he had seen any Celtic players. He looked around, pointed straight ahead and said' There's one of your precious Celtics.' He gently pushed me right towards DJ. He wasn't playing as I found out but was with some of the other guys on the team. He liked that I was from Boston, living in Chicago and still loving the Celtics. We were interrupted by others wanting his attention but he would politely pause to talk and come back to our conversation. After awhile, he asked me what I was doing Saturday. I told him I'd be watching the NBA Allstar Saturday on television with my family. He said 'Wait here.' and I did. He came back with 2 10th row seats to the Allstar Saturday! He said he had to go out of town to attend to some business but was happy to give them to me since he had enjoyed our talk so much!! That was my 1st time meeting him. We stayed in touch the years and I had spoken to him on the Tuesday prior to his passing. I could not believe the news when I had heard he had died! I was heartbroken. I had lost a friend who would call to chat about CSI Miami or the practice he had just had or how much he missed his family. From all the beautiful words on Legacy.com and now this website, it is apparent we all lost a piece of us. Dennis was the funniest, kindest, sweetest man I have ever met! I will contribute to the website. I want to be there when Dennis is inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame,; an event that should already have happened but will stand as a testimonial to the great player and man he was.. and will always be in our hearts!