I would first like to congratulate my Cousin Joseph M. Young for signing up with the Indiana Pacers. It is good to see how his hard work and dedication contributed to his entry into the NBA, where I’m sure he’ll continue his legacy. Secondly, I would like to thank Mr. Larry Bird for actually creating an historic moment for reconnecting the descendants of two twin slaves born in Opelousas, Louisiana. Yes that’s right. It just so happens to be that the Pacers star Paul George paternal 4th great grandmother Merice Donato is the twin sister of Joe Young’s maternal 4th great grandmother Olympe Donato. Merice and Olympe Donato were the Mulatto daughters of Céleste, a Negresse [Negro] slave of Martin Donato Bello, a once wealthy and affluent free man of color of Opelousas, Louisiana, native of New Orleans. Martin Donato Bello emancipated the ancestors of the 2 basketball players in his last will, dated September 2, 1847. When Paul George’s ancestor Merice Donato died at a young age, her sister Olympe reared her daughters along with their father, Dr. Frédéric Acher of France, physician of the late deceased Martin Donato Bello. To see descendants of each twin reconnected on the same NBA team 167 years later is amazing. As the 2 teammates bond they can also catch up with meeting each other’s family, after all they descend from the same Louisiana tree.Hopefully this can encourage you all to dig up your roots. Ancestry NBAESPN NBA on ESPN Indiana Pacers