Dorian Finney-Smith of Mavs inspires students with a story of tragedy and triumph

Dallas Mavericks superstar Dorian Finney-Smith knows better than anyone else in the NBA how mentoring can radically change someone’s life.

There was no father in the family when Finney-Smith grew up, so his older brother Ra-Shon “Peanuts” Finney became the male leader. Ra-Shon was an honor student, captain of the football team and worked at Pizza Hut. As the main source of income for the family, Peanuts paid for basketball trips and other school needs. He was a role model for Dorian and his other siblings.

Dorian’s mother, Desiree, cleaned homes and businesses, and all six of her children developed into outstanding athletes. The family didn’t have much, but they had enough and plenty of love to keep things moving. Life was good.

Then on September 13, 2008, everything changed.

Dorian was 16 the night he saw his brother shot. Ra-Shon had just played the best high school football game of his career when the couple went to celebrate. Later that night, at a house party, Dorian was only a few feet away when a man shot Ra-Shon seven times in the arm, chest, and shoulder. Dorian held his older brother in his arms, trying to heal his wounds until the ambulances arrived.

Two weeks later, Ra-Shon Finney died from his injuries. He never spoke with his mouth again, but expressed his love with his eyes. All these years later, Dorian still remembers the little details that forever shaped his life.

“When I talk about it, it’s therapeutic,” Finney-Smith explained. “It still hurts, but I know my story can help someone else. Just going through this as a teenager, I feel like it could have an impact on someone else. I feel like I’ve clung to it for so long that it’s ruined my life as a person.”

The superstar athlete the Dallas Mavs has come to love dearly, better known locally as the Doe Doe, took over the high school auditorium on Tuesday afternoon when he spoke about Peanuts and other circumstances in his life.

The Norcom, Virginia native showed up at Metro Opportunity High School in Fort Worth to celebrate Mentoring Month. Metro Opportunity is an alternative school that uses a restorative approach to help students be creative with tasks and solve problems. Finney-Smith taught students how inner healing comes when hope is proclaimed in the midst of darkness.

There was purpose in Ra-Shon’s life, and Dorian would keep his name by speaking his truth.

“I know I can get along with a lot of these kids,” Finney-Smith said. “If they can take something I said today and make a difference, I have done my job. I am grateful to serve others, share my experience and play the game I love.”

All three students who spoke to Mavs.com said Finney-Smith’s visit had a profound effect on them and gave them the courage to speak up. Eighth grader Jayden Sampson grew up with an inmate father and recently lost her brother to violence. She was moved to tears when she heard Dorian’s story.

“What he shared will help me. When he brought his brother, I understood because my brother was just killed and his brother was killed,” Sampson said, overwhelmed with emotion. “My father left when I was two years old and he is on death row, so I don’t have a father either. So that inspires me to keep going and follow my dreams.”

The stories of Dorian and Jayden point to the importance of Mentoring Month, held each January by the Dallas Mavericks and NBA teams. The Mavs partnered with Big Thought, a local alternative education non-profit organization, to co-host the event with Finney-Smith at the Metro Opportunity Center in Handley. Mentoring celebrates the power of supportive and meaningful relationships and teaches how sharing experiences can change a young person’s life.

“I think that even now, as an adult, it is important to find people with whom you can connect and open up,” Finney-Smith shared with students. “We have to release it. Secondly, you must communicate with like-minded people. I have a great group of friends that I still keep in touch with today. Not all of us made it to the NBA, but we still pushed each other to get better. My best friend is a teacher and my other best friend is an entrepreneur and owns a couple of houses, so we all pushed each other. And then, even though I didn’t have a dad, I had an older brother who showed me the basics. They all played a role in who I am today.”

After talking to the students, the Mavs swingman, along with the coaches of the Mavs Academy, held a mini-basketball practice. Finney-Smith advised children to never be ashamed of what they endure and to be changemakers in their schools and communities.

School director Ondra Bohanon said that the visit is necessary for students and teachers.

“I think mentoring is the most important thing because students come from all walks of life,” Bohanon said. “Dorian’s story helps them understand that they can go a long way and succeed.”

Finney-Smith knows how to move forward no matter what.

His most incredible flexibility is not climbing into the NBA, but earning a degree in sociology from the University of Florida. He has a degree in family, youth and social sciences and now puts everything he has learned into practice. Doe is also a proud father of three young children, paving the way for the next generation.

6ft 8in and 220lbs turned into one of the best defensemen in the NBA. Having missed several games, he hopes to return Wednesday night against Atlanta. This will be his first game in a month and it falls on the week of Peanut’s birthday. Ra-Shon would have turned 33 this week.

Dorian says that his brother is always close to his heart. Every time he looks down while playing, he remembers the words written on his chest.

This is Rashon speaking.

Reporter: Tamara Jolie, Dallas Mavs

Photojournalist: Brandon Colston, Dallas Mavs