Charles Barkley defied his doctor's orders to visit Craig Sager at the hospital

Published Oct. 20, 2016 4:36 p.m. ET

Allyssa Lee

Sideline reporter Craig Sager underwent a rare third bone marrow transplant in his ongoing battle against acute myeloid leukemia on Wednesday.

And while the beloved TNT basketball broadcaster had the support of his family and legion of fans throughout his cancer battle, which he had been fighting since 2014, Sager's wife, Stacy, came down with a cold and was sent home before the procedure for fear that she would transmit her illness to her husband.

Enter NBA Hall of Famer and Sager's TNT colleague, Charles Barkley, who heard Stacy was out of commission for a couple days and immediately flew to Houston to be by Sager's side.

He even defied his own doctor's orders to do it. According to the Associated Press:

Sir Charles had hip replacement surgery less than a month ago and wasn't cleared to travel. He said his doctor was livid when he learned Barkley had defied orders and flown halfway across the country. Barkley informed the doctor that it was an emergency.

"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."

AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Sager's son tweeted out his thanks to Barkley for his support:

https://twitter.com/CraigSagerJr/status/770797085536899075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Way to go, Sir Charles.