Anthony Muobike spends most hours doing what he loves…dribbling his basketball.
When he isn’t watching his siblings or walking his dog, you can find 14-year-old Anthony perfecting his basketball skills in front of his home in Edmonton, Canada. Although he worried about bothering his neighbors with his constant dribbling, he didn’t realize that they were actually inspired by his love for the game.
One neighbor decides to give Anthony a gift.
After seeing the dedication and time that Anthony spends each day on a game he is clearly passionate about, neighbor Ian Ray decides that it would be nice to find him a net. “He was just a kid who dribbled a basketball – all day, all night…I kind of figured it would be cool if he had a net.” – Ray told globalnews.ca
Ian puts the word out on Facebook in search of a net.
His request to find Anthony a net resulted in an overwhelming response from friends, neighbors, and family.
A “good kid.”
The community was in full support of Ian’s proposal. Instead of finding Anthony a second-hand hoop, the northside community rallied together to buy him a new one. The donations totaled $750. After Ian’s post got more and more attention, the regional branch of Canadian Tire decided to donate a net to Anthony. Ian used the funds raised to purchase a gift card for Anthony from the Canadian sports store, Sport Chek. He could use the money as he saw fit to further his basketball endeavors.
Ian was truly blown away by the response.
“I didn’t expect it to blow up like it did but the northside is a pretty strong community and everyone is willing to chip in when they have to. It was really nice. – Ian Ray told globalnews.ca
This neighborhood has his back.
To say Anthony was surprised is an understatement. He didn’t realize that his neighbors were actually in his corner.
“I thought that whenever I dribble it made a racket and people want to sleep or something like that…I did not know that dribbling that ball, practicing at least maybe two or four hours a day, would actually have an influence.” – Anthony told Global News
“It does touch my heart.” – Anthony told Global News
The knock at the door came as a surprise to Anthony and his family and he was truly grateful for the gesture of kindness from his community. “Holy moly. I just see the net and it didn’t even matter that it wasn’t built yet, it was just in the box. I was like holy moly, that’s crazy…It actually just makes me feel happy inside. It just makes my mind blow. Like wow.” – Anthony told Global News
Anthony’s mom was brought to tears.
The community’s act of kindness was an unexpected gift for the family who had just moved to the neighborhood a year earlier. “Wow. This is huge. I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t know I had such a great community that looks out for one another,” – Anthony’s mom Leticia told Gobal News.
Anthony’s story gets the attention of LeBron James.
As if it couldn’t get any better, Anthony’s story inspires his own idol, LeBron James. LeBron shared Anthony’s story on Instagram with a caption that read, “pure and beautiful.” James also wrote “Anthony keep working kid! You have another fan in me.” – LeBron James@kingjames
“I will succeed.”
If you thought that this gift would go to waste, you were mistaken. After receiving this gesture of support from his community, and hearing the inspirational words from his idol, LeBron James, Anthony is ready to take on the world of basketball.
“I will be in the NBA – [in] 2026, I’ll be there and then try to give back to those people and I will make them all proud. I will be up on your TV.” – Anthony told Global News.
We believe you, Anthony! The world can’t wait to see how far you’ll go.
Now watch this inspiring video of Anthony’s surprise from his neighbors.
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