Edmonton, Canada – A community came together to help their neighbor with NBA dreams practice his basketball skills.
Anthony Muobike, 14, is passionate about the sport. He spends hours every day dribbling in his driveway to improve his skills.
Anthony feared that his constant dribbling would annoy his neighbors, but it was the exact opposite—they actually see him, and they think he’s got what it takes to be a basketball star.
Ian Ray, a local resident who has lived in the area for 13 years, was inspired by his dedication and put out a Facebook call for help. He asked friends and family if they had a basketball net they weren’t using or willing to part with so that Anthony could have a hoop to shoot at.
Ian said that when he’s not dribbling, Anthony is watching siblings or walking his dog. He described him as a “good kid.”
“He was just a kid who dribbled a basketball – all day, all night,” he said. “I kind of figured it would be cool if he had a net.”
The community did more than just donate a used hoop—they chipped in to buy Anthony a new one, and Ian ended up collecting a whopping $750.
Ian’s post garnered so much attention that the regional branch of Canadian Tire caught wind of it, and the company decided to donate a brand new net for the aspiring athlete!
The money was used to buy a gift card from Sport Chek in Canada, so Anthony could purchase more gear to support his basketball dreams.
“I didn’t expect it to blow up like it did but the north side is a pretty strong community and everyone is willing to chip in when they have to. It was really nice,” Ian said.
Anthony is overjoyed, saying that he couldn’t believe it when he found out his neighbors banded together to get him a basketball net.
“I thought that whenever I dribble it made a racket and people want to sleep or something like that,” he said. “I did not know that dribbling that ball, practising at least maybe two or four hours a day, would actually have an influence.”
The plan was completely unknown to the teen until Ian showed up at their door, surprise!
“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,” he recalled. “It does touch my heart. It makes me feel happy inside. It blows my mind. Like wow.”
Anthony’s family had only moved to the area a year ago, making the kind act even more special.
“Wow. This is amazing. I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t know I had such a great community that looks out for one another,” Leticia, Anthony’s mom, said.
Leticia has been putting off buying him a net, so she’s really grateful to their neighbors for what they did.
Even Anthony’s idol, LeBron James, heard about his story. The 36-year-old baller shared his story in his Instagram Stories, saying that it was “pure and beautiful.”
Anthony is determined to become a professional basketball player, and considering all the practice he’s been doing, he’s likely to achieve it.
“I will succeed,” he declared. “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.”
Click on the video to learn more about this story.
***Did you enjoy this positive, uplifting story? By simply subscribing to our site and sharing our stories with your family and friends, you can help us support it.