Leandro Barbosa arrived in Indianapolis and joined the Indiana Pacers in March as part of a trade with the Toronto Raptors. As usual, older brother Arturo was by his side.
Those unfamiliar with the Barbosa family might have thought it was his father, considering Arturo is 21 years his senior. He has been Leandro's constant companion since the NBA guard was 5, however.
That's when their mother, Ivete, was so tired by the youngest of her five children's active nature -- "I was like the devil when I was a little kid," Leandro said with a laugh -- she asked Arturo to allow him to tag along to his basketball games in their hometown of Sao Paulo.
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"Since that time, we've been together every place I could be," said Arturo, who also accompanied his brother to his initial NBA stop in Phoenix. He'll be in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday when the Pacers play the Magic in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
"Basketball would be nothing without him coming into my life and teaching me how to play, teaching me all the things I've wanted to do since I was a kid," Leandro said. "He was a great brother to me. It was the best thing that could happen in my life."
The Barbosas are from one of the most soccer-mad countries on the planet, but Arturo said he fell in love with basketball while watching the Harlem Globetrotters perform on a small black-and-white TV at their Sao Paulo home. He was 10 years old. He still can whistle the Globetrotters' "Sweet Georgia Brown" theme song.
Arturo began playing against local competition. He even advanced to the professional ranks. But he never got to try out for the Brazilian national team because the coaches told him he had taken up the game too late, he said.
Arturo wanted to ensure Leandro didn't meet a similar fate, especially after seeing how easily his brother picked up the game. Their father, Vincente, had been a boxer, and Leandro seemed to possess his footwork.
"I told people my brother was going to be a star," Arturo said. "They would ask me, 'How can you tell if someone 5 or 6 years old is going to be a star? It's too early for that.' But I was sure. The things he did, he did so easily. He was so smart."
Plus, organized sports offered a path away from the temptations of an impoverished Sao Paulo neighborhood.
"If you ask a child to go to (the) street and beg for money, they will go and do that," Arturo said. "But if you ask them to show up for sports and do their best, that's what they're going to do."
Leandro, 29, proved his brother prophetic. By 16, he was playing professionally and was a member of the Brazilian national team that finished eighth in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis.
He was taken in the first round of the NBA draft the next year by San Antonio and traded to the Suns, where he played for seven years before being traded to Toronto.
Arturo said he likes the Pacers because Indianapolis is "not too hot like Phoenix and not too cold like Toronto."
Leandro said he's grateful to have had his brother around for his time in all of those cities.
"He's my mentor," Leandro said. "I listen to him many times. Sometimes I don't agree with things he'll say, but most of the time, he's right. He'll see things on the court that sometimes I won't see when I'm out there."
Barbosa won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in 2007 with the Suns, and his combination of speed and length -- he has a 6-10 wingspan despite standing just 6-3 -- has often been a tough matchup for teams.
He averaged 8.9 points in 22 games with the Pacers after the trade, despite being slowed by an ankle injury. Coach Frank Vogel noted before the regular-season finale against Chicago last week that the team had won 17 of 21 since Barbosa had been acquired.
"He's given us some scoring off the bench," Pacers forward Danny Granger said.
Arturo said he still gives his brother advice but wanted to make it clear that whatever the Pacers coaching staff tells him takes priority. The brothers learned to speak English after Leandro moved to North America. Arturo admits there remains some disappointment that his basketball dreams didn't work out quite like he envisioned.
But when he watches younger brother Leandro play for the Pacers, any sense of bitterness fades. He quickly realizes things turned out for the best.
"I remember that you can't give up,'' he said. "You have to have the confidence to keep going. Everyone has a voice inside that says, 'Go, go, go.' I'm so happy and so excited when he gets on the court with a shirt of his team."
Call Star reporter Michael Pointer at (317) 444-2709. Follow him on Twitter @michaelpointer.
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