Tommy Marshall III wanted to meet Luka Doncic for Christmas.
The Dallas Mavericks granted his wish shortly before Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Tommy and his family met with the Mavericks superstar outside of the team’s locker room moments before Doncic went through his pregame workout routine. A smile and look of disbelief graced Tommy’s face as Doncic signed a basketball and two towels that also displayed Kyrie Irving.
Tommy was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 14 years old and delayed attending high school for a year to focus on the life-threatening illness. In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, he had a relapse and prepared for a bone marrow transplant. His 17-year old younger brother, Andrew Marshall, was his bone marrow donor. Andrew also took part in the opportunity to meet Doncic on Monday.
Doncic signed a basketball, two towels that also featured Kyrie Irving and presented Tommy and Andrew with three pairs of Doncic’s signature Jordan Brand shoes. After the transplant, Tommy fought to get back in shape to play basketball. He is a member of the men’s developmental basketball team at Trine University in Angola, Indiana.
“Now when I play, I’ll look good in them,” Tommy said to Doncic.
After posing for a couple of photos, Doncic took the towels to the Mavericks’ locker room and had them returned with Irving’s signature.
“It was an awesome experience,” Tommy said. “Luka’s such a great guy and this organization is amazing. It’s been a great experience down here.”
One would think that Tommy, who’s a native of Novi, Michigan — a suburb of Detroit — would naturally root for the Pistons. But he said he’s a Mavericks fan and has been drawn to Doncic since he entered the NBA in 2018.
“He’s such an amazing player,” Tommy said. “His skillset, how he controls the pace of the game and it just made me want to come meet him and meet him up close.”
Tommy said sharing the experience with his family is what he’ll remember most about his encounter with his favorite player.
“Just seeing all these cool things with my family,” he said. “They are the ones when I went through this journey with cancer, they say it takes a village and they are part of my village. Thanking God every day for good health and all of this.”
