In January 2000, when Grant Hill was playing for the Detroit Pistons in a game against Chicago, he crashed into Bulls forward Ron Artest. Hill, then in his sixth season with the Pistons, felt pain in his right hip and naturally compensated by putting more weight on his left leg. Eventually, his left ankle started throbbing, but Hill continued to play.

Taking time off was unthinkable. As long as Hill could move he had to play, because as January turned into February, the Pistons remained in the playoff race, and that would end the second their All-Star sat. So Hill kept playing, buoyed by the possibility of winning a playoff series for the first time and by the relief of pain medication. But on April 25, during Game 2 of a first-round playoff series against Miami, Hill's ankle finally gave out.

He felt it pop. An X ray revealed a dislodged bone. Hill, the team's leading scorer, was done for the playoffs, and one loss later, so was Detroit.

Fast forward to March 2003.

Calvin Hill sat in his car while it was going through a carwash on a Sunday afternoon. His cell phone lay silently at his side.

The second his car emerged from the tunnel, Hill's cell phone rang. It was his wife, Janet Hill, and the message left Calvin cold.

"She said, 'Tamia just called, she's rushed Grant to the hospital, and she said she thinks he is dying.'

When Detroit hosts Orlando at 7:30 p.m. tonight, the game is more than a typical regular season matchup between two playoff-caliber teams. It marks the completion of a circle for one Mr. Grant Hill, who is all that is right about not only sports, but the world.