Cancer

Utah Jazz “Signs” 5-Year-Old Fan With Leukemia

JP Gibson, a 5-year-old basketball lover, had his dream come true when he got a one-day contract to play for the Utah Jazz on Monday.

To give something back to their little but loyal fan who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2012, the Jazz also let Gibson join them during their open scrimmage at EnergySolutions Arena Monday night.

His parents Josh and Megan, along with his 2-year-old-sister Elsie, accompanied free agent guard JP as he stood up on the table holding his official Utah Jazz jersey for photographs after signing his deal with Jazz president Randy Rigby.

“When he was just over a year old, he would sit with my husband Josh watching games," JP's mother Megan Gibson told NBA.com. "He started insisting on shooting hoops for an hour each night before bedtime when he was just 15 months old. He knows he has to be six before he can play Junior Jazz, and he reminds us all the time that he can't wait until he's six.”

And he didn’t. Wearing a No.1 jersey, Gibson went straight to the Utah Jazz to dribble and dodge NBA pros. He even dunked the ball, with a little help from center Rudy Gobert.

The Gibson family, who reside in Layton, Utah, was hosted by the Jazz team and “Anything Can Be.” The project is part of the Millie’s Princess Foundation that provides financial support, awareness and hope to families affected by childhood cancer. For the project, photographer Jon Diaz asks children suffering from cancer what their dream is and makes it a reality through a photographic storybook. JP Gibson's Utah Jazz dream is one of them.

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