Basketball player Chris Silva has emotional reunion with mother after three years

Power forward breaks down in tears as he says: ‘That’s my mum’

Basketball player Chris Silva had an emotional reunion with his mother after not seeing her for three years.

His team, Miami Heat, shared a video on Twitter of the heartfelt reunion on Saturday.

The video description said the NBA basketball player has only seen his mother once in the past seven years since moving to the US from Gabon in 2012 when he was 16 years old.

Just before revealing Silva’s mother had flown 6,300 miles to see him play in the NBA for the first time, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra explained that “the holidays are really about being around the people you love”, before adding that he always thinks about Silva at this time of year.

“We have a great surprise for you,” Spoelstra told Silva, as his mother walked out onto the court.

Upon seeing his mother, Silva broke down in tears, repeatedly stating: “That’s my mum.”

The pair then embraced, as his teammates clapped and cheered.

The surprise reunion was organised by NBA commissioner Adam Silver and senior vice president of international basketball operations Kimberly Bohuny, in collaboration with NBA Africa.

Several Twitter users commented on Silva’s “beautiful” reunion with mother.

“This is bigger than basketball. Thank God for this moment. I’m literally in tears,” one person tweeted.

“This is so beautiful. Truly a special moment,” another remarked.

“Thank you NBA Africa for this amazing surprise,” Silva said at the end of the video.

“This will go right to my heart and has made this holiday special to me.”