Credit: Ameenah Rasheed
NEED TO KNOW
- A mom surprised her autistic son with suite tickets to a Lakers game for his 19th birthday
- She initially told him they would watch the game from a restaurant near the arena
- The heartfelt reveal, shared on TikTok, shows the teen’s priceless reaction
For Anaz, his 19th birthday started with what seemed like a simple plan: dinner at a restaurant near the arena to watch his beloved Los Angeles Lakers play on TV. What he didn’t know was that his mom had something much bigger waiting just a few steps away.
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The emotional surprise, captured on TikTok by his mother Ameenah Rasheed (@ameenahrasheed), shows the teen and his friends believing they would watch the game from outside the stadium before learning they actually had suite tickets inside. “I’m a single mom, so I try to make special moments happen for Anaz because outside of our family, I’m really all he has,” Rasheed tells PEOPLE.
The now-widely shared video opens as Rasheed leads her son and his friends through the area surrounding the arena, where crowds of Lakers fans and pregame festivities fill the streets. The TikTok’s text overlay reads, “he has no idea I got him and his friends suite tickets to see the Lakers game for his birthday.”
Rasheed managed to pull the surprise together at the last minute after spotting the tickets online. “I found the tickets last minute on Gametime and made it happen,” she says, explaining that Anaz is a devoted fan who especially loves LeBron James and Luka Dončić.
Basketball has long been one of Anaz’s biggest passions, and Rasheed says his knowledge of the sport runs deep. “He has memorized stats about the entire Lakers roster and most of the NBA,” she shares.
Before the reveal, however, Rasheed had to stay committed to the plan even as her son talked about how much he wished he could actually attend the game. In the video, Anaz expresses gratitude that he and his friends could at least watch the matchup live on TV nearby.
Hearing that moment was bittersweet for the mom behind the camera. “I kept thinking, ‘Should I tell him now?’ because I felt bad watching him and his friends see all the Lakers fan festivities outside the arena and say how much they wished they could go to the game,” she recalls.
Still, Rasheed stayed focused on the surprise she knew was coming. “Seeing their excitement build made the surprise even better,” she says.
When the moment finally arrived, the reaction wasn’t instant. Rasheed explains that the group initially needed a second to process what she had just said.
Ameenah, Anaz, and his friendsCredit: Ameenah Rasheed
“At first they didn’t process what I was saying, so their reaction was delayed and I had to repeat it a few times that we had suite tickets to the Lakers game,” she says. “Once it finally clicked, their reaction was priceless, and the whole moment felt magical.”
The video, which Rasheed also shared alongside a clip from her son’s account (@alrguysummerdude), struck a chord with viewers online, especially parents of children with autism. Many commenters celebrated Anaz’s excitement, while others shared their own experiences raising children on the spectrum.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive,” Rasheed says, adding that the messages have been deeply meaningful.
She notes that Anaz was nonverbal at age 3 and faced challenges in school while growing up. “It was touching to see people comment on how well he’s doing now,” she says.
Rasheed also noticed that some parents were particularly moved by how comfortable Anaz appeared during the loud, high-energy game environment. She says those observations meant a lot after years spent helping her son adapt to new spaces.
“I’ve spent years helping him adjust to different environments, so those comments meant a lot,” she shares.
Today, Anaz is now a freshman at California State University, Northridge, and Rasheed says their bond has only strengthened through the challenges they’ve faced together.
“Going through adversity together has only made our mother-son bond stronger,” she says. “I am incredibly proud of the young man he is becoming.”
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For Anaz, the night carried one more unforgettable moment after the surprise itself. Rasheed says that when the Lakers acknowledged him and wished him a happy birthday in the comments of the video, it made the experience even more meaningful.
“Seeing the Lakers acknowledge him on the video made the entire experience even more unforgettable for him,” she says. “It’s a moment he will remember for the rest of his life.”
Read the original article on People