Bismack Biyombo was missing his usual …

Bismack Biyombo was missing his usual pregame text message from his father while sitting on a courtside seat about 90 minutes before tipoff of a Phoenix Suns road game last month. François Biyombo used to text his son with an encouraging message before his NBA games, then watch or check the box score in the early morning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “My dad was everything to me,” Biyombo told The Undefeated before the Suns’ 105-97 win over the Utah Jazz on Jan. 26. “My whole career, I always get a text message from my dad before the game. Sometimes it would be 3 a.m. over there, 4 a.m. in the Congo. And I’m like, ‘Dad, what are you doing up at this time?’ He was always checking on my game.”