JULY 20 • 2023 | 13

Cavaliers and the Michigan State 
Spartans, his alma mater. He loved 
the city of Detroit and the efforts 
being put into its revitalization. 
There was no food Nick loved 
more than cheese; in fact, it was 
mostly what he ate. Macaroni and 
cheese, grilled cheese, cheese quesa-
dilla, Cheetos, Cheez-Its. He loved 
cheese-flavored foods so much that 
his family and friends joked he would 
one day turn into a big block of ched-
dar. 
Nick took pride in being Jewish. He 
loved to laugh and make other people 
laugh. Nick was highly intelligent. He 
could say the alphabet backwards, 
list all 30 NBA teams and all the U.S. 
states in alphabetical order in sec-
onds.
Nick loved people — it didn’t 
matter who you were. He loved 
NBA superstars, hip-hop artists, his 
teachers, Uber drivers, waitresses, 
the DoorDash delivery guy, security 
guards. Nick loved pretty much any-

body who talked to him. He prided 
himself on connecting with people, 
while also liking to connect people 
to other people. “To know him was 
to love him and be loved by him,” 
Jennifer and Dan agreed. 

‘HE LOVED LIFE’
“There is no person I’ve ever met who 
loved life and living more than Nick,” 
Dan said. “In his eyes, everything was 
a wonder, and every moment was 
more exciting than the one before it. 
It was his world — we just happened 
to be living in it.”
Nick wasn’t afraid to be himself. 
He never felt any fear or nervousness 
to talk to anyone. Always curious, if 
Nick had a question, he would ask it 
and find an answer.
The following are just some 
moments encapsulating the legend of 
Nick Gilbert.
Nick once walked up to an NBA 
player he had previously made a 
Super Bowl bet with and reminded 

continued on page 14

“IN HIS EYES, 
EVERYTHING WAS A 
WONDER, AND EVERY 
MOMENT WAS MORE 
EXCITING THAN THE 
ONE BEFORE IT. IT 
WAS HIS WORLD — 
WE JUST HAPPENED 
TO BE LIVING IN IT.”

— DAN GILBERT

TOP LEFT: Proud “big little 
brother” Nick is all smiles 
at Nash’s bar mitzvah in 
2019. ABOVE: Nick and 
Dan celebrate at the NBA 
draft lottery in 2013.

