Celtics’ Jayson Tatum gifts sneakers to young fan battling cancer during surprise meeting

Last Friday’s Celtics game brought a major surprise for a young boy battling cancer in the form of an unexpected meeting with Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

Tatum also gave the young fan a new pair of sneakers.

Speaking after the excitement, the boy’s mom said it was a dream come true for her son.

“I was kind of speechless,” Xavier Goncalves said of his meeting with Tatum. “It was just a life changing moment.”

Goncalves, 10, is a fifth grader from Raynham. He was diagnosed with cancer back in November and has been living at Christopher’s Haven in Boston with his mother, Samantha Bowditch, while receiving radiation treatments.

“He has been outstanding through the entire thing,” Bowditch said.

Bowditch took her Celtics superfan to his first game on Friday, where they had no idea about the surprise the team had in store for him. Then, the team brought Goncalves down to the court to meet his idol — Tatum.

“The smile that was on his face when Jayson Tatum walked up to him was absolutely amazing,” Bowditch said. “There’s no other feeling. It was so special.”

Tatum brought a pair of his newly-released sneakers with him, gifting the shoes to Goncalves.

Goncalves said Tatum asked him to wear the shoes to give him good luck in the game.

“So, I wore them all game,” Goncalves said.

Though Goncalves now has a pair of kicks to help him kick cancer, he said a pair of shoes this special should only be worn for a special occasion.

“[I will] definitely wear them to my last treatment,” Goncalves said.

Until that point, it will be the memory of meeting his favorite player that powers Goncalves through his fight against cancer.

“He inspires me to work harder to do better,” Goncalves said.

Goncalves will likely be finishing up treatment and heading home either at the end of May or the beginning of June just in time, he hopes, to watch the Celtics in the NBA finals.