First-known NBA player with MS signs with Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks guard Chris Wright will be battling for playing time after he signed a 10-day contract with the team on Wednesday. But his biggest battle is

Dallas Mavericks guard Chris Wright will be battling for playing time after he signed a 10-day contract with the team on Wednesday.

But his biggest battle is with his health, as Wright is the first-known NBA player to say he has multiple sclerosis.

He is expected to join the team in San Antonio when the team plays there Thursday night.  He was diagnosed while playing the Turkish Basketball League last season and says he was barely able to walk. Wright bounced back strong and averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Iowa Energy this season earning a D-League All-Star bid.

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. "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," Wright told ESPN.com. "I made history with this. "There's not a cure for MS. "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."