Craig Sager to Undergo 3rd Bone Marrow, Stem Cell Transplant

Turner Sports NBA sideline reporter Craig Sager underwent his third bone marrow transplant Wednesday in his treatment for leukemia.

Sager's son, Craig Sager II, announced the news on Twitter:

The 65-year-old Sager won the Jimmy V Perseverance Award for his courage in the face of cancer at the 2016 ESPY Awards.

On Thursday, Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press reported that Charles Barkley flew to Houston to be with Sager during the treatment: 

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"Craig Sager is one of the most interesting people I've ever met," Barkley said. "We go to see Sager to cheer him up and by the time you leave you're like, 'Is anything wrong with him?' He has the most positive attitude ... When you go to try and cheer him up his attitude is so upbeat he cheers you up."

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Sager has worked in the field of sports reporting since 1972 and joined Turner Sports in 1982.

The Illinois native has continued to work off and on while undergoing cancer treatment and achieved a huge milestone in his career last NBA season.

Sager reached an agreement with ABC and ESPN that allowed him to act as a sideline reporter for Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. That marked the first time Sager had the opportunity to work the Finals.

According to the Houston Chronicle (h/t ESPN.com), Sager revealed last month that he was hopeful getting the transplant now will allow him to work opening night for the 2016-17 NBA season in October:

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My body isn't getting stronger, so they want to do it while I'm strong enough. Third transplants are kind of rare, so hopefully we will get it done and I'll be ready in time for [NBA] opening night. We've known since February we would have to have the third transplant. We tried to delay it until after the Olympics, but [the disease] is very aggressive, and there is a sense of urgency to do it now.

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Last year, Sager returned to the sidelines on opening night for the clash between the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans after missing much of the previous two NBA seasons.

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