How a 30-day NBA arena tour set a world record and met a major charity goal
Justin Leusner visited all 30 NBA arenas in 30 days to raise 100,000 dollars for Make-A-Wish
May 18, 2026 [[read-time]] minute read
I've wanted to visit all 30 NBA arenas since I was in elementary school. At 23 years old, I finally did it… but in 1 month, with an iPhone, a world record on the line, and a goal to raise $100,000 for Make-A-Wish.
What started as a personal bucket list became something much bigger. Instead of embarking on this journey alone, I partnered with the NBA and Make-A-Wish to raise $100,000 for charity while attempting a Guinness World Record by visiting all 30 NBA arenas in 30 days. Plus, we produced daily long-form YouTube content along the way, so our subscribers were able to join in on the journey too.
It all began February 24 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and ended March 27 at Chase Center in San Francisco.
30 arenas. 31 YouTube episodes. 32 days of my life I'll never forget. Here are some of the moments that made this series so much FUN!
Milwaukee Bucks (Fiserv Forum)
In Milwaukee, the Bucks’ production team invited me to shoot half court shots with their mascot, Bango the Buck, during a TV timeout. We had 45 seconds to take turns shooting shots.
Bango shot first... and missed. Then it was my turn.
I airballed the first half-court shot. I put up a second shot… and I airballed that one too. The crowd was booing me (as they should be). For the third shot, I took a few steps backward to get some more power behind it… And somehow, someway, the shot went in.
LA Lakers (Crypto.com Arena)
On day 11, we went to the LA Lakers. My challenge was to “Take a selfie with 100 LeBron James jerseys” before midnight.
At first, we were cooking. We got 50 before tipoff. But then the game started, which meant not as many people were in the concourse. We spent the rest of the night running between levels, hunting for LeBron fans.
After the game ended, we still had 3 more selfies to go. I walked the surrounding streets of LA and with 1 hour until midnight, I finally found 3 more LeBron fans and got my 100 selfies to unlock the next day of the challenge!
San Antonio Spurs (Frost Bank Center)
On day 13, we got to meet an absolute LEGEND! Introducing… Make-A-Wish kid Jorge! Make-A-Wish had arranged for his wish to be granted that night, right there in the arena during a San Antonio Spurs game.
During a TV timeout, the crowd started chanting his name. "Jorge! Jorge! Jorge!" for 2 straight minutes. I looked around and there wasn't a dry eye in the place, including mine. What a beautiful moment and reminder of why we did this fundraiser!
Miami Heat (Kaseya Center)
What are the odds?!?! During our stop in Miami, we got to witness Bam Adebayo drop 83 points!!! This still doesn’t feel real.
Atlanta Hawks (State Farm Arena)
On day 17, I got a much needed haircut…. inside an NBA arena! This was sick.
Philadelphia 76ers (Xfinity Mobile Arena)
My final challenge of the series (to unlock the finale) was to create a secret handshake with my favorite NBA team’s mascot: the Philadelphia 76ers’ Franklin the Dog!
Golden State Warriors (Chase Center)
By the final day of the series, we had raised $57,000 for Make-A-Wish. Which is great… but our goal for this series was to raise $100,000. We had been stuck around $57,000 for a few days. In the car ride to the finale arena, we accepted defeat. We were happy to have raised over $50,000 for such an incredible cause, but we were disappointed that we fell short.
A few minutes later, I got a phone call from a friend of mine.
Noah called to let us know that he was going to be donating $43,000 so that we could hit our $100,000 donation goal. It’s been over 2 weeks and I’m still speechless, just speechless.
Noah, you are the real MVP. Thank you for believing in the amazing work that Make-A-Wish does and for making so many life-changing wishes come to life for kids who are in need!