Phoenix Suns’ Matt Barnes Welcomes Twins Carter and Isaiah

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With his wife Gloria’s due date six weeks away, Phoenix Suns’ player Matt Barnes’ didn’t anticipate hearing from her on the night of Nov. 5th as he suited up for the game and turned his phone off. However "literally fifteen minutes before game time," Matt was taken by surprise when fellow player Shaquille O’Neal — who still had his cell on — received a phone call from his wife saying that Gloria had called and the babies were on their way! With a quick trip back to his locker, Matt, who was a bit skeptical, confirmed the news. "[I] checked my phone and saw that I had missed like nine calls. After I realized this was serious, I felt concerned because of how far in advance this was all happening," says Matt.

Immediately turning his thoughts from that night’s game to his baby boys, the 28-year-old was on a plane flying back to California within 45 minutes, and arrived "in plenty of time" to welcome the new babies the next morning, Thursday, November 6th. Son Isaiah Michael was born first and weighed 5 lbs, 14 oz., and six minutes later the couple welcomed his twin, Carter Kelly, who weighed 5 lbs, 7 oz. Despite there being "some concerns with Gloria for awhile," both mom and the boys are "fine."

Crediting his wife for "doing a great job handling things back home," Matt returned to his team two days later, but looks forward to "seeing my family out here real soon…within the next couple of weeks when they’re able to fly." In the meantime, Matt — who says "it really opens your eyes" after being "introduced to … people that suddenly mean everything to you" — is thrilled to be a father as he reveals that, so far, he has managed to avoid any sleepless nights!

"Fatherhood is great. They’ve been sleeping through the night so I haven’t had a lot of the sleepless, waking-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night experiences I’ve heard about, but I’m sure they’ll be coming my way soon."

Source: Phoenix Suns’ Official Website