Dallas – Preston Pipkins has a bedroom that doesn’t need explaining as to who has his back in the NBA.
“We have Luka and Kyrie. Our team is a lot of fun to watch,” he said.
The 14-year-old has had experiences with Dallas Mavericks players that most people don’t get to have. Autographed photos from Luka Doncic and Dirk Nowitzki and a ball signed by Kyrie Irving are moments from that trip where the teen gets a chance to put his foot down safely.
“It was very surprising. I mean, we never expected anything like that to happen,” he said. “So it was scary, but we got through it.”
Preston, his father Javonte Pipkins, his mother Rachel and his younger brother Cameron were all sick. His mother said they thought COVID or another illness was spreading. His entire family recovered except for Preston.
She said her son was tired. He complained of a chest cold and was not eating normally. The worried parents took him to a children’s health center. Doctors explained that Preston was suffering from anemia because he had cancer.
“The biggest shock of the century, you know, the one you never expect to hear,” Pipkins said. “I mean I told the doctor he was wrong.”
Her disbelief didn’t change what the doctors said. Preston spent 178 days in the hospital and began chemotherapy for AML, acute myeloid leukemia. Four rounds of treatment failed to shrink the aggressive cancer.
The bone marrow transplant worked, but Preston had to undergo more chemo to prepare himself. Most importantly, the young boy from East Dallas needed someone who matched a marker in his body called human leukocyte antigen.
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, biracial donors make up 9 percent of all donors. The largest group of donors is white at 55 percent, Hispanic/Latino at 13 percent, Asian at 9 percent, Black at 8 percent and American Indian or Alaska Native at 1 percent.
Preston and his brother are children of inter-caste marriages. This is normal for them, but the prospects of finding a match for their son were not good.
“We didn’t anticipate that the doctor would come in and tell us there’s no one on the planet who has your baby’s DNA and is a registered donor,” Pipkins said.
Her younger brother, Cameron, was tested as a donor. The 42-year-old mother of two said the chances were one in four. Doctors said Cameron was a 100 percent match.
“He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way than to save his brother’s life,” he said.
The treatment, which will take place on February 14, 2023 (National Donor Day), was medically and emotionally challenging for the family. While Preston was in the hospital, he received a pleasant entertainment. Mavericks legend Nowitzki spent an hour with him in the hospital room, giving him an indoor hoop to hang on the hospital door.
Preston said, “It was crazy. He’s so tall. And he’s so nice. He’s like – when you meet him he seems like a normal guy.”
Fresh out of the hospital, the young man got the chance to be a Maverick for a day through Make-A-Wish. His idea bubble included Mark Cuban signing him a contract and announcing his name in full glory inside the American Airlines Center.
He got to eat dinner in a suite and go watch a game against the Golden State Warriors. Before game time, honorary teammates Derrick Jones Jr., Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derek Lively met him for pictures, videos and autographed gifts.
He’s glued to the NBA Finals while waiting to meet Doncic and Irving. The young ballplayer in him wants to focus more on defense, offensive rebounds and running the floor than his hometown team.
He’s heard the phrase “defying the odds” because most people don’t believe the Mavs will win this series.
“It means you try to get out of it and think about what’s going to happen at the end, not just what you’re going through,” Preston said.