12 | JULY 20 • 2023 

cally and mentally against the disease 
that he became a tougher, better 
person for it. It made him become 
comfortable in his own skin because 
he felt confident about what he was 
doing. In his mind, if he could beat 
brain tumors, he could beat anything.”

DAD’S PERSONAL HERO
When 14-year-old Nick Gilbert rep-
resented the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 
team his father owns, in the 2011 
NBA draft lottery, minutes before 
proving to be a perennial good luck 
charm, he was asked by a reporter 
on national television how it felt 
being his dad’s personal hero. Nick 
responded with what would become 
his personal tagline, something he 
would always be attached to: “What’s 
not to like?” 
The response wasn’t bragging or 

boasting. It was the truth. 
And others applied Nick’s saying 
to Nick himself. “There simply wasn’t 
much about Nick not to like, every-
one around him knew it, and he knew 
it,” Dan said. 
Referring to someone as “one-of-
a-kind” is often a cliche. A cliche is 
a cliche often because it’s true. Nick 
Gilbert was one-of-a-kind in every 
way. But he was anything other than a 
cliche — he was the genuine article. 
“Nobody did a better Nick Gilbert 
impression than Nick Gilbert,” Dan 
summed up. 
“He was perfectly imperfect and 
100% authentically himself,” his mom, 
Jennifer Gilbert, poignantly said 
about her son. 
Nick Gilbert loved so many things. 
He loved music. He loved sports, 
including cheering for the Cleveland 

OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER

TOP TO BOTTOM: Nick rappels during his Israel mission in July 2012. 
Nick completing his rehabilitation. Nick climbing Masada.

continued from page 11

