Tairih King’s neighbors thought something was amiss last Thursday afternoon when a massive but suspicious motorcade pulled up to the family’s Dorchester home, but what was happening before their eyes was simply the granting of a young man’s wish.

Nine-year-old Tairih and his family were being treated to a Boston Celtics game against the New York Knicks, a meet-and-greet with Celtics star Jayson Tatum and others, and transportation to and from the game by the US State Department’s Diplomatic Service motorcade – all courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island Foundation.

“Jayson Tatum is one of my favorite players of all time except for Michael Jordan,” said Tairih from his home this week off Talbot Ave. near Ashmont. “What made me wish for him is I wanted to see him play and meet him. That was my dream. Now that I got my wish, I want to make sure everyone else gets their wish too. One of the coolest things I experienced there was the golden ball that was signed by the entire Celtics team.”

Tairih, along with his father, Shawn, mother, Kueen, and brother, Tavaj – learned that his wish was to be granted at a recent Make-A-Wish Foundation event. He had gone through a tough round of treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma at Dana Farber’s The Jimmy Fund Clinic, and with him now cancer-free, the magical night at TD Garden was just what the family needed.

“At this side of the journey, it was just such a blessing,” said Shawn King of how he, Tairih, and the family had been given the royal treatment at the game – after having mystified their neighbors with the massive motorcade that whisked them off to the North End.

“One of our neighbors saw the motorcade and our kids looking out at it and called to let me know that something bad might be happening,” laughed Kueen. “She was nervous because there were people in the yard and so much was happening. Our neighbors do look out for us.”

Tairih got to meet Tatum and his young son Deuce in the tunnel at the Garden before the game and he then got to hang out with Jayson for a while. As a bonus, he was given a game-used pair of Tatum’s size 14 custom Nike shoes. “I was impressed because he actually pronounced my name really, really well,” said Tairih [‘Tye-ree’]. “Nobody in the world has my name.”

The King family presented Tatum and his family with specialized ‘Prayers over Pity’ sweatshirts that they use to raise money for other families going through childhood cancer journeys via the K & K Family Foundation.

Said Celtics President Rich Gotham: “Seeing the look on Tairih’s face – both when he learned that his wish would be granted and as he took in each moment of the experience – that’s what it’s all about. The fact that we get to create moments like this for families who are going through something so difficult is a big part of why many of us at the Celtics do what we do.”

Sean Holleran, CEO of Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, thanked the Celtics for being such a good partner on Tairih’s wish. “It can’t be easy to pull off an experience like his when there is so much that goes into a game, but this was a dream come true for Tairih,” he said. “The anticipation of his wish and the wish experience itself brought so much joy and hope when Tairih and his family needed it most.”

Holleran noted there are 650 other children who are eligible and awaiting their wishes to be granted. Tairih, who attends Cabot Elementary in Newton via the METCO program, said he intends to work hard at basketball now, playing in Tony Richards’s ‘No Books, No Ball’ league in Roxbury where he’s a sharpshooter known as ‘Swaggy T.’

His future wish is that he can make it to the NBA, where he will help the kids who haven’t been granted theirs. “When I’m in the NBA, I’m going to give $1.2 million to Make-A-Wish,” he said.

The family said they have, at the request of their son, started their own foundation to help other families going through cancer treatments. Knowing the tough realities of such a crisis, they felt it only appropriate to pay it forward. They plan to have a Cancer-free fundraiser for Tairih at Chez Vous Skating Rink on April 28, with all proceeds going to help other families. “We felt compelled to do that,” said Kueen.

To learn more about how individuals, businesses, and community groups can help build hope for wish children, visit massri.wish.org/worldwishmonth.