Wright became the first-known NBA player to acknowledge having multiple sclerosis when he signed a 10-day deal with Dallas and joined the Mavs in San Antonio. That’s a fact that Wright is especially proud of after earning a call-up from the D-League.

“That’s definitely one of the things I pride myself on, being the face of it and being an inspiration and motivation for people to keep fighting.” said Wright, who averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Iowa Energy this season to earn a D-League All-Star bid. “I made history with this.”

Wright was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic, unpredictable disease that affects the central nervous system, while playing for Olin Edime in the Turkish Basketball League last season.

The first sign of the disease occurred when his foot gave out while he was running line sprints at the end of a March practice. Wright lost sensation and felt pain and numbness in his right hand, right arm and right leg that night, prompting him to visit multiple doctors and specialists before the disease was finally diagnosed correctly.

Common symptoms of MS include fatigue, numbness, loss of balance, poor coordination, blurred vision and problems with memory and focus, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which estimates that more than 2.1 million people are affected by the disease. In severe cases, MS can cause paralysis. Wright originally was told by Turkish doctors that his basketball career was finished.

“The doctors told me that, but I didn’t think so,” said Wright, 23, a former Georgetown star who went undrafted in 2011. “I just knew it’d be a process, and when I got back, it’d be a good story.”

Wright returned to serious basketball activity in July. He missed an opportunity to play in the NBA’s summer league but was ready for the beginning of the D-League season and seized the opportunity. The Mavs opted to call up Wright after waiving reserve guard Dominique Jones this week.

“Chris is a true point guard that’s consistently ranked as one of the top point guards in the D-League this season,” Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. “He’s a high-character, tough competitor who’s had to consistently overcome personal challenges like MS to put himself in this position. The physical obstacles he’s had to contend with are significant.”

Added coach Rick Carlisle, who is uncertain when Wright will get his first NBA playing time: “It shows determination and an element of resourcefulness, which I think is a very important quality on any NBA team, to have as many resourceful guys as you can. I know he’s very pleased to have this opportunity. And it’s going to give inspiration to others that may have similar conditions.”

Wright, grateful to the Mavs given his medical situation, said his disease is in remission. He has not had an episode since the one in Turkey, which lasted two weeks, and visits a specialist for a checkup every six months. He takes an intravenous dose of Tysabri, which he says is the strongest MS medicine, once a month.

“There’s not a cure for MS,” Wright said. “Can there be a relapse? Absolutely. But with the way I’ve been progressing and the way my body has been — it helps that I’m an athlete as well — it reduces the risk of that happening again. I just go from there and see what happens.”

Wright’s arrival in the NBA happened to occur during MS Awareness Week. It also came weeks after the birth of his first son, Chris Jr.

“It’s all a blessing,” Wright said. “This has been a great month for me.”

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The New York Knicks forward suffered the injury early in the first quarter of the Knicks’ 92-88 loss to Toronto when DeMar DeRozan elbowed him in the arm on a drive.

Anthony said he felt numbness throughout the game and called the contusion “kind of deep.”

If he feels discomfort leading up to Sunday evening’s game, Anthony said he would sit out rather than risk further injury.

“I’m not going to force it, definitely not going to force it,” Anthony said. “As bad as I would want to play in the All-Star Game, participate, if I can’t go, I can’t go. Nothing I can do about that.”

Anthony struggled with his shot throughout the Knicks’ loss on Wednesday, their third in four games heading into the All-Star break.

Anthony missed 19-of-24 shots and had just 12 points. It was the third game this season in which he failed to score 20 points.

The injury affected Anthony’s shot throughout the game.

“It was kind of like a dead arm out there,” he said. “Just a matter of trying to get through it, trying to get some feeling back into it.”

Anthony, a six-time All-Star, entered play Wednesday averaging 29 points per game, tied with Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant for the highest mark in the NBA.

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“It was really bad,” he said. “It got to the point where there was no way I was going to be able to play, so it makes it frustrating.

“But there wasn’t really an option once we got down to it.”

The 29-year-old says that once the pain started he struggled to find any relief, and things finally culminated in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 27.

“I started to feel it a little bit toward the end of training camp and the start of the season and then it got out of control probably after the second game of the season,” Spezza said.

“It got worse and worse and halfway through the Pittsburgh game, I lost strength in my leg and got real bad numbness and halfway through the game I pretty much knew I’d have to see someone.”

For Spezza, who says he felt almost instant relief following the surgery, back issues are nothing new.

He had surgery after the 2006 season, but continued to miss games the following year because of recurring back pain. He has always had to be cognizant of the issue and undergo ongoing treatment to deal with flare-ups.

“I do play hockey for a living and it’s not easy on the body, but the goal is to strengthen it and have it fixed and not be an issue moving forward,” he said. “If there’s a doctor out there who can give me that guarantee, or I can give you that guarantee I’d love to have it.”

Spezza didn’t want to commit to a return date, but he hopes to return before the end of the season.

“You always aim to push your rehab and you can be a little more aggressive with things, but (Gerry Townend, the head athletic therapist) already talked to me about making sure that we’re doing things right and not getting too carried away,” Spezza said. “The goal is to get back by the end of the season and to hopefully help us to the end of the year and the playoffs.”

The first couple of weeks following surgery are a rest and recovery period and then if things look good, Spezza should be able to start with his rehab late next week.

Despite having two surgeries, Spezza remains hopeful that this won’t be an ongoing problem, and more importantly, a detriment to the longevity of his career.

“Going forward it’s definitely going to be a focus for me. When I plan my summer training, when I do my workouts and when I’m practicing, I have to take it into consideration.

“But there’s been a lot of guys who have played with back problems and gotten over it, so I’m hoping to be one of those guys.”

Game notes
The Senators reassigned D Mark Borowiecki to the Binghamton Senators of the AHL. … G Craig Anderson was given the day off to rest, but Senators coach Paul MacLean didn’t rule out giving Ben Bishop the start Saturday afternoon against the visiting Winnipeg Jets. … Anderson has played the past seven straight, while Bishop has made just one start this season, a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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