Basketball player without an arm dreams of playing in the NBA

The name of Hansel Enmanuel Donato has gained a lot of strength in social networks in recent weeks.

The story of this basketball player has gone around the world, as he is a guy with the ambition to improve himself, since he does not have one of his arms, but he dreams of becoming an NBA player.

Enmanuel is the son of Hansel Salvador Donato, a former professional athlete, who for many years dedicated his life to basketball. When his offspring was six years old, he suffered a fatal accident while they were on some courts in his native Santo Domingo.

Little Emmanuel was playing with his friends and made the decision to climb a wall. However, the wall was weak and fell down, causing him to become trapped.

For a couple of hours they were trying to rescue him, until they finally succeeded, but the infant was severely beaten, so he was taken to a nearby hospital.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the doctors gave an unexpected result, as Hansel would lose one of his arms, given the severity of the injury.

“The brick block fell on his chest, but especially crushed his left arm and tendons. None were left alive and there was no way to save his arm. Everything came crashing down on me. I was in his charge at the time and when they had to amputate his arm I felt that it was my fault, that everything was over. Luckily, God showed us another way”, narrated Hansel Salvador Donato, father of Enmanuel

This was not an impediment for Emmanuel, who in his adolescence stood out in lower teams in the Dominican Republic.

In January 2021, Donato took a major leap in his career, as Tennessee State University offered him a scholarship. The intention is for him to study and at the same time play in the highest division of the NCAA.

The story of the young player has inspired many people, because regardless of the fact that he does not have an arm, he has stood out on the court.

His position on the field is not defined, since his talent has served to fill various positions, such as forward, shooting guard and point guard.

At 18 years old, Emmanuel is already 1.96 cm tall and has plenty of talent to fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA, which would represent one of the most important achievements in the history of the competition.

The Dominican Hansel Enmanuel Donato Domínguez, born in Los Minas and has just received a University Scholarship for the NCAA at the University of Tennessee and with his 6-5 height and his enormous agility, he is shaping up to be a Future NBA despite having a single arm Admirable pic.twitter.com/bOsQVb7BPQ

– Hanlet Amin Marinez (@hanletlamacana) August 14, 2021

“Disability is nothing, it happens to anyone. You have to keep going and never give up. Never look back. It’s hard to recover from and it’s frustrating. But God and the dream of being like my dad inspired me.”

“I don’t put limits on myself and anything you say I can’t do, I’ll do three times better. I am focused on being in the draft and then in the NBA. I feel like I was born to succeed, no matter what happened to me. God has a purpose and I am on his mission. Everything I do is for him and my family. They are everything.”

— Hansel Emmanuel Donato, American player

Out of series Hansel Emmanuel Donato Domínguez “Kikimita”, is still spectacular!. 😱 pic.twitter.com/as22zGTyzi

— I LOVE BASKETBALL 🏀🇩🇴 (@ilovebasket_rm1) December 20, 2021