The Illawarra Hawks co-captain spoke to the boy’s worried father on the beach and decided to go for a swim and check on him, while the father went to notify lifeguards of the emerging situation.

The boy had been surfing outside the flags, became separated from this surfboard and caught in a rip. He was tiring badly and a long way from shore.

Forman, an elite athlete, managed to reach the distressed boy, reunite him with his board and get him back to shore to waiting surf lifesavers who made sure he was okay.

The family sung the highest praise of not only Forman, but lifesavers who jumped into action as soon as they were notified.

The end result was a good one.

A young man was safe, but it could have easily been a different story.

The surf of this region is notoriously powerful.

In recent weeks beaches have eroded away and changed, so it’s little surprise to hear of people getting into difficulty in the first hot day we’ve had in a little while.

If you  journey out into the surf make sure you are equipped to deal with the conditions that are present on the day.

If you want to be completely safe, swim between the flags on a patrolled beach.

And certainly unless you are a qualified lifeguard also it might be best to leave the rescuing up to the professionals.

Certainly Oscar Forman’s fitness and years of experience at the beach would have held him in good stead, but he’s the first to say had he known the full extent of the situation he would have let the lifeguards do their job.

“I don’t recommend doing what I did as it can quickly turn from being one person in trouble into two people in trouble but I wasn’t sure he was in trouble at the time,” Forman said.

Oscar’s feat and the response by lifesavers was given high praise by the boy’s father Troy Everett.

Certainly one boy will have a story to tell of the day he was rescued by a National Basketball League legend.

Thanks Oscar and thanks to the lifesavers across the region who time and time again make sure there are happy endings to stories such as these.