Corey Groves is a 17-year-old who lives in Canada and is a huge fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. Sadly, he’s been diagnosed with stage 4 sarcoma cancer and has been given one year to live.
And his one wish was to meet and shake the hand of his biggest hero, LeBron James. So Groves attended the Lakers’ game on Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Before getting sick, I would eat, sleep basketball,” said Groves, according to the Toronto Sun. “Chances are (being in L.A. for the Christmas Day game) will be my last holiday ever. I’m hoping to spread the word and maybe get LeBron’s attention so I can shake my hero’s hand.”
Earlier this month, Groves created an Instagram page titled “coreyswish2019” to help his dream come to fruition, which shows him wearing James’ jersey and showing his love for the Lakers.
Groves also reached out to the Children’s Wish Foundation to see if they could help him meet the four-time NBA MVP, but after multiple attempts they couldn’t set it up.
But they did pay for an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for the teen, his mother and younger brother to watch the Lakers play on Christmas.
Eventually, Lakers players Quinn Cook and Jared Dudley reached out to Groves, which was the first sign that his wish may come true. Then on Wednesday, Groves posted a photo of himself and James to show that everything worked out in a major way.
“Merry Christmas 🙂 I got my wish. So thankful to everyone that helped make this happen,” he wrote. “:) @kingjames @coreyswish2019 #coreyswish2019”
James shared the same photo to his Instagram Story, where it said that Canadian businessman Nav Bhatia helped set up the meeting.
The Clippers beat the Lakers 111-106 in Wednesday’s game, and James barely missed a triple-double, with 23 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds.
