What You Need To Know

• Joey Tromba was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019


• In April, he’ll celebrate one year in remission


• He met up with Luka Dončić for a third time at Slovenian Heritage Night at the Cleveland Cavaliers game against the Mavericks

“When I was sick, I felt really bad and didn’t have energy, so now I don’t take it for granted,” Tromba said, doing pull-ups at his gym.

At 21, doctors diagnosed Tromba with leukemia. It was a diagnosis that took him away from the sport that he loved: wrestling.

 “It’s tough because I started when I was 5, so it was all I’ve ever known,” Tromba said.

Driving home from the gym, he said it was challenging to shift his priorities in order to focus on his health.

“I was devastated,” Tromba said. “Just because I was a 21-year-old college kid, just focused on studying and wrestling. So to get ripped away from that and have to go straight to the hospital, crushed me a little bit.”

Tromba added that the hardest part of his journey was realizing that the fight wasn’t over. 

“Waking up every day was tough, but we got to the finish line,” Tromba said.

In April, the engineer will celebrate one year of remission. Tromba credits the support that he received from his family, friends, and his favorite Slovenian basketball player, Luka Dončić, for getting him through dark times. 

“He’s my favorite player, so him doing well [on the court] and [him being] one of the best in the league helped me to want to get back to me getting back in shape,” Tromba said.

Tromba comes from a Slovenian family and said he followed Dončić’s basketball career overseas for years before he got signed to the Dallas Mavericks. 

“I got in contact with him in the hospital and that was my goal, to meet him in person. So, I knew I had to keep fighting to make it out,” Tromba said.

Now, the former wrestler got to hang out with hero for a third time ahead of Slovenian Heritage Night at the Cleveland Cavaliers game against the Mavericks. It’s a reunion that Dončić also enjoyed.

“Since day one, you know, we connected. You know, he’s a great guy. I’m [feeling] good about him, [that he’s done with the treatments.] I’m just really proud of him,” Dončić said at their courtside meetup at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. 

Just like Dončić, Tromba said he’s proud of his road to recovery.

“I can’t believe it, honestly. I’m just going through it, and knowing that there’s an end, but not seeing it always through the tough times, and just trying to stay positive all [of] the time. And now that I finish, and it’s almost a year, it’s crazy. I can’t believe it,” Tromba said. “So, looking back, I’m just so proud of myself for pushing through.”

Even though Tromba is about to celebrate one year in remission, he added that he’ll continue to look up to Dončić for years to come, athlete to athlete.