Why does Anthony Edwards still wear the wristband gifted by young fan battling blood cancer?

The Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is lighting up the season with his exceptional scoring performance. The NBA star has built a fanbase across different generations due to his outstanding performance and down-to-earth nature. An incident took place last year in January where a 6-year-old boy fighting leukemia attended Edward’s match against the Detroit Pistons.

Who knew that a small wristband would last forever with the Timberwolves star? Edwards pledged to keep the wristband with him and wear it every time he had to play on the court. His promise to the young boy shows the NBA star’s deep-rooted love for his fans. Let us dive deeper into what actually happened on the courtside during the Timberwolves-Pistons match in January 2025.

Anthony Edwards has never removed the wristband gifted by 6-year-old fan battling leukemia

Anthony Edwards stands by his words and never takes his promise lightly. A similar incident took place during a matchup last year. A 6-year-old fan from Michigan, named Luca Wright, gifted him an orange bracelet as a sign of love and respect. The young fan is a huge fan of Anthony Edwards, it seemed. To this date, Anthony Edwards wears the wristband in every game, which represents a symbol of promise that he chose to honor

Blood cancer, in most cases, remains incurable, and Wright’s foremost wish was to beat Leukemia. The 6-year-old boy is undergoing treatment for the same. During that match, Wright held up a placard which said, “To Do: 1. Beat Cancer 2. Be The Next MJ”. He then presented the orange wristband to Edwards, which symbolized leukemia awareness.

Anthony Edwards and Luca Wright’s bond deepened during the 2025 NBA All-Star weekend

After Anthony Edwards promised him by saying, “I’ll wear this for the rest of my career on my left arm band just for you”, the inspiring duo met again during the 2025 NBA All-Star weekend in San Francisco. Right after the beautiful rendezvous, the Timberwolves star had received a new wristband from Luca Wright. Later, he also discovered a shared interest related to jersey number 5 between him and Luca, which strengthened their bond.

Anthony Edwards wore the wristband during a match with the Los Angeles Clippers and in all subsequent matches, following his promise to the young fan. For now, all anyone can hope is that 6-year-old Luca Wright continues to grow stronger and overcomes leukemia.


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