Bulls fan who beat cancer to sit courtside as his favorite team plays the Pacers

By Todd Feurer

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — An Elmhurst teen who beat cancer is getting the VIP treatment from the Chicago Bulls as they travel to Indianapolis to play the Pacers on Wednesday to celebrate being cancer-free.

Ananias Clements – also known as AJ – will sit courtside at the Bulls-Pacers game on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The 16-year-old and his family traveled with the Bulls on their charter flight to Indianapolis on Tuesday. The family walked into their hotel room to find it filled with red and white balloons and other fun things.

For dinner, Clements got a special Bulls jacket from former Bull and three-time NBA champ Bill Wennington, now the team’s radio analyst, and radio play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirsky.

Clements battled osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, last year. He is now cancer-free.

Last month, the team surprised him at school, letting him know he would travel with the team for the Pacers game. At first, AJ had no idea why 450 students were cheering for him in the cafeteria at Timothy Christian High School in Elmhurst.

“I had no other thoughts. I was just so confused. Nothing made sense at first and then it kind of all clicked once I saw Advocate Healthcare on the back of the poster,” he said.

After the game, Clements will travel home with the Bulls on their charter plane.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.