The Unbreakable Bond, an ESPN cover story by Mina Kimes, is a descriptive and creative depiction of DeAndre Hopkins’ relationship with his mother, Sabrina Greenlee. The author of the piece does a great job of showing that despite the hardships both Hopkins and his mother endured she still comes to every game, and he still gives her every winning ball.

The piece does a great job telling both Hopkins’ and Greenlee’s stories without downplaying one or the other. The fact that Hopkins not only still cares for his mother but admires her and does his best not to “…let (his) mama down” despite her insisting she was not always a good mother shows that when you truly care, relationships are recoverable. The story is told in such a way that readers can sympathize with Hopkins and his mom, admire their perseverance and strength, and draw inspiration from their journeys.

There are some points throughout where certain stories or background seems to have no connection to either the main theme or to the next section of text or next story. Removing these sections, moving them around, or clarifying/connecting them to the theme or other parts of the story would make for an easier read.

In addition, the ending could do a better job of tying everything together. While the author does manage to get across her final point of Hopkins loving his mom and her always being there for him, however, in my opinion, there are holes in the story. They tell us that Hopkins had a tough life growing up, they tell us his mother feels that she wasn’t always a good mother, they tell us his mother didn’t want to go to his games but went anyway, and they tell us he loves his mother despite everything that happened. The author never connects that final point though. Why, despite everything he has been through, Hopkins still loves his mother as fiercely as he does. Is it her bravery? Her courage? Her strength? Her drive and dedication to still come to all of his home games despite not being able to see them? A connection on these points would provide clarity for readers and make the piece flow better overall.

While telling the story mainly through text does work, I feel as though an interview style story would have had more pull with the audience. Having Hopkins and his mother recount their experiences on camera would make it easier for readers to connect and make the piece more influential overall. However, I understand that they may have been uncomfortable with reliving their traumatic past on camera.

Though the piece does lose some influence being primarily composed of text, the author did an admirable job at using photos to keep readers engaged. The scrolling photos of Hopkins are a great addition to the story, and the photo of his father’s grave along with the one of his mother at a game are both emotionally compelling. I do think, however, that the story would benefit from additional media. A video of Greenlee at a game, experiencing everything through her daughter’s descriptions; a photo of Hopkins handing his mom a ball; photos of the family around the time the story is focused on (2002 and the following years), if they have any; photos or videos of Hopkins playing football (as a kid and/or in the NFL), etc.

Overall, the piece is well written and gets it’s point across. It is both emotionally compelling and inspiring. However, it could have been more influential if it had been composed through a different media format, or if it had more photos, videos, and clarity.