A special edition “JP Strong” T-shirt is available online and will be featured at a Utah Jazz preseason game to benefit the family of JP Gibson, the 8-year-old Jazz fan favorite whose battle with cancer resumed last summer, the Utah Jazz announced today.
Originally designed by Steven Diaz in support of JP, the T-shirt features his initials with the Jazz note and the word “Strong” in gold. Proceeds from the $15 shirts will be donated to the Gibson family of Layton, Utah.
The “JP Strong” T-shirts can be purchased online through Fanzz at https://www.utahjazzstore.com/utah-jazz-nba-jp-strong-promo-tee-navy-100091960. The Jazz Team Store at Vivint Smart Home Arena will also have T-shirts for sale at the Oct. 6 Jazz game against the Phoenix Suns.
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In October 2014, JP captured the hearts of Jazz fans after he signed a one-day contract with the Jazz while engaged in a courageous battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Prior to a public intrasquad scrimmage, he signed his deal with a purple crayon, held a press conference, stretched with the Jazz players on the court, and then capped the night with a Rudy Gobert-assisted slam dunk.
In his two years of remission after aggressive cancer treatment, JP and his family regularly attended Jazz games and the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. He played Junior Jazz basketball on teams in Clearfield and Layton along with football and soccer. His parents, Josh and Megan, have traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for pediatric cancer funding with the National Institutes of Health.
In July, his father tweeted a self-written note from JP that read, “I’m JP. My cancer is back. Wish me luck!” He has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.