Kyrie Irving has accomplished a lot in the past five years. He was the No. 1 NBA draft pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011 at the age of 19. His first-season performance as point guard for the Cavs earned him the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 2012. This season Kyrie and his teammates, which include LeBron James, once again battled their way to the NBA Finals, this time to defend their 2016 title. The Cavs lost to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5.

In light of all this, there’s one person to whom he attributes much of his success: his father, Drederick. When Kyrie was 4, his father gave up his own career as a professional basketball player to raise Kyrie and his sister, Asia. He moved the family to West Orange, New Jersey, bought a house and, when he wasn’t working, taught his son everything he knew about basketball. “He sacrificed a lot,” Kyrie says. “He really was Superdad.”