TULSA, Okla. — Kimberly Hiddleston faced her grief head-on, with basketballs,
During the Western Conference Finals, she placed three basketballs in her front yard, all complete with the words ‘Love Stone’ written on them in black marker.
WATCH: OKC mom honors late son with basketball memorial, donates 250 to TPS
OKC mom honors late son with basketball memorial, donates 250 to TPS
“He was a huge Thunder fan; I’ve become a huge Thunder fan as well,” she said. “He always thought he was going to be a professional basketball player, but at 5’7, his chances weren’t that strong.”
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Her son, Stone, passed away at 31 in 2025 from an overdose, three days after the Thunder’s championship parade.
When neighbors started asking about the balls in her yard, Hiddleston decided to buy more and place basketballs in yards all across her OKC neighborhood.
“I thought it looked good and I thought it was an inexpensive way to really keep his name alive,” she said.
What started as a memorial of three basketballs quickly grew to 5,000 basketballs. With the help of Cleats for Kids, 250 were donated to TPS.
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“These kids are in need of these basketballs,” said Emily Stone, Statewide Manager for Cleats for Kids. “It’s probably one of the most important sports, and you see it played all over the state, and with our little kids being Thunder fans, they can kind of grow up and think maybe I can do that one day.”
While this work is about keeping Stone’s name alive, it’s also about keeping other families from feeling the same grief and pain her family deals with daily.
That part resonated with Nathan Hale senior basketball player, Kedaar Cole.
“I feel like it’s kept me out of trouble,” Cole said. “I hung out with the wrong crowd, but when I joined basketball, I kept my grades up, stayed out of trouble, stuff like that.”
Hiddleston doesn’t want the mission to stop in Tulsa or in OKC; she has plans to take her foundation ‘Stone’s Thunder Balls’ nationwide.
“We started our GoFundMe, and now we have a foundation, and people were just pouring in,” said Hiddleston. “We raised $30k in just two weeks of people wanting to support this to get the word out.”
Her goal is to purchase 20K basketballs for the start of playoffs – April 19 – which she’s hopeful the Thunder will be playing in. That also happens to be Stone’s birthday.
“A lot of people look at me and go ‘Oh my gosh, how can you survive a major tragedy like this,’ and I will tell you I went from bawling to being a major baller,” said Hiddleston. “The community pulling together and bringing awareness has been monumental, and I think you all are seeing it here today. My son would love the laughing, the competitiveness and the community.”
For any basketball donations, reach out to Cleats for Kids.
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