Indiana teen burn patient meets Pacers' rookie star

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An Indiana teenager recovering from second-degree burns recently got a visit from a basketball star.

According to a report from FOX 59, 15-year-old Owen King was badly burned in November while playing basketball with his cousin. He describes the experience as, "the most unimaginable pain I've ever felt."

He suffered second-degree burns on his arm and leg, and was treated by doctors at Ascension St. Vincent's Burn Center in Indianapolis.

Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs, who operated on King, said one of the biggest challenges of treating King was keeping the young athlete down.

He just wouldn't stop playing basketball.

"For him, it was trying to keep him in bed when he was in-patient, rather than up in his room shooting baskets with his mini basketball hoop," Gibbs said.

It continued after King was released. Gibbs says when he would return to the burn center for follow-up appointments after he was released, it would be clear from the state of his bandages that he'd been playing basketball again.

Gibbs says that brought a smile to his face.

"Because he had been playing basketball non-stop even though he was supposed to be taking it easy, which made me laugh because it reminds me of some of the stuff I did when I was a kid," he said.

The scars are now barely visible, but the second-degree burns King suffered resulted in the teen missing out on his sophomore basketball season. But he didn't miss the chance to meet an NBA star on Tuesday.

Pacers' rookie Bennedict Mathurin paid him a visit, turning a painful situation into a moment of joy.

"This is crazy," King said to Mathurin.

"It is crazy," Mathurin said.

"I've never met an NBA player before," King said.

As King's doctor, care team and mother looked on, they said it was clear the player lifted King's spirits after a long battle to get back in the game.

"Probably when I leave here, I'll go back and I'll play some basketball," King said to Mathurin.