Teenager Thinks Neighbor Is Knocking On His Door In Order To Call Him Out For Loud Noise Instead Gets Handed A Card

Oct 05, 2021

We all have our own hobbies and passions that help give us something to do to pass the time. For some people, hobbies can include watching movies, playing video games or honing in on our artistic abilities. For a young boy from Edmonton, Canada, his favorite hobby is playing basketball. Anthony Muobike would spend hours upon hours every day outside his house dribbling his basketball up and down his driveway — something that his neighbors had grown pretty accustomed to hearing.

The 14-year-old loved to play basketball, but he didn’t have a hoop to shoot in, so he just stuck to dribbling the ball either in his driveway or in the street for hours on end. His hero is NBA legend LeBron James, and Anthony hopes that one day he’ll have a career playing the sport professionally. It wasn’t long before neighbors began to notice just how much time Anthony invested in the sport, as they could constantly hear him practicing his favorite hobby.

In August 2021, one of Anthony’s neighbors decided it was finally time to do something about the teenager constantly dribbling his basketball at all times of the day. At first, Anthony was worried when he got a knock on his door, assuming that he was getting in trouble for being too loud and disturbing the peaceful and quiet neighborhood. However, his neighbor Ian Ray had a surprise in store for the hopeful basketball player, and his surprise has since taken the world by storm and even captured the attention of some notable athletes.

A Dream Come True

According to Global News, Ray noticed Anthony playing basketball constantly in their neighborhood in Edmonton and decided to do something about it. He and the other neighbors were aware of just how much the teenager loved basketball and were impressed by his skills, but they noticed that he didn’t have a hoop, so they decided to change that.

Ray posted on Facebook asking for help and was met with nothing but generosity from several neighbors. The post garnered so much traction that Canadian Tire caught wind of it and offered to donate a brand new net. 

On Aug. 16, 2021, Anthony received a knock on the door from Ray and immediately assumed it was a neighbor asking him to try to quiet down with all of his basketball playing, according to Global News. 

Ray had something special in store for the teenager, though, and surprised him with a new basketball net, a new basketball and a $750 gift card to go out and buy even more sports equipment — all money that the Edmonton community helped raise.

“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,” Ray told Global News.

Anthony’s mother, Leticia Muobike, was shocked by the neighborhood’s display of kindness. 

“Wow. This is huge. I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t know I had such a great community that looks out for one another,” Leticia said. “I keep telling him, I’m going to get it next week, next month. This is really huge for me and my family. I’m overwhelmed by the love.”

“I don’t have to see him bounce the ball around anymore. At least he has somewhere to practise and see his dream. This is a dream come true and I thank everyone who believes in him. … He said he’s going to make everyone proud,” she added.

Plenty of news outlets have since shared the story, with several celebrities and athletes commenting on it. The Royal Crown Academic School in Toronto extended an offer to Anthony to participate in its elite basketball program. The story even captured the attention of James LeBron, who posted about Anthony on his Instagram story. “LeBron is the main reason why I started playing basketball,” Anthony said, shocked that his hero noticed him.

The teenager has high hopes for the future. “I’ll be in the NBA (in) 2026,” he said. “ I’ll be there and then try to give back to those people and I will make them all proud."

Anthony and his mother, who moved to the Edmonton neighborhood last year, are grateful and "proud" to live in their new community.

“The messages I saw, the love, the support, I’m so proud to live in this community,” Leticia told Global News.

“My heart is full of joy. I’m overwhelmed… all I can say is thank you so much. Thank you north Edmonton, thank you Canadian Tire, thank you to Mr. Ray and his family.”

Viewers and readers also found joy in Anthony's story, with many commenting that this community's good deed restored their faith in humanity.

"Excellent, that is what good neighbors do," wrote Don Pengilly, an apost.com reader.

"I’m glad there’s still some good men in this world," Diana Elizabeth Murphy added. 

What do you think about this neighbor’s kind gesture? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family members and friends, too!