Hudson Butcher, 8, watches a basketball bounce around the rim of a small hoop hung from his bedroom closet at his home in Sandy on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
[Krysyan Edler
Krysyan Edler](https://www.deseret.com/authors/krysyan-edler/)
Hudson Butcher might be the most famous 8-year-old in Utah.
“OK, Ace Bailey and the other players, let’s do good, OK? Let’s win an NBA Finals! Come on!” Hudson yells in the video he shot in his bedroom on his mom’s phone.
Pointing directly at the phone, Hudson addresses his favorite Jazz player, “Even you, Darryn Peterson,” before proceeding to dunk on the basketball hoop hanging on his closet door.
The video went viral and Hudson has become the talk of the NBA over the last week.
His video made its way to the Jazz, and several players commented on it. Both the Jazz and NBA shared it across their social platforms. Then, Hudson received a personal invitation from the Jazz to a night he’ll never forget.
The Deseret News spoke to Hudson and his parents about his whirlwind week in the spotlight.
The story behind Hudson Butcher’s viral Utah Jazz video
Hudson Butcher, 8, tosses a small basketball above his head in the room of his home in Sandy on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
Hudson was born to be a Utah Jazz fan. On the television in the hospital when his mom, Madi, gave birth to him, then-Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell was competing in — and winning — the NBA Slam Dunk contest.
Hudson has been a passionate Jazz and basketball fan ever since. He played Junior Jazz last year and now plays in the Jazz Bantam program.
Hudson’s viral video was actually the second Jazz video he made. He previously made one with his younger brother, which caught the attention of Bailey.
Hudson wanted to make another. So one morning while his mom was getting ready, he borrowed her phone. She knew he had it, but it wasn’t until three or four days later when she discovered the video.
“I’m looking at the video, and I’m crying laughing. I text (my husband) Cole like, ‘Get up here right now, this is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,’” Madi Butcher said. “Then I said, ‘If we put this on the internet, it’s gonna go viral. It’s just so pure and so funny.”
So she cut down her son’s 30-minute video and posted it to her Instagram.
“I think the best thing is it’s so true to who he is as a kid,” Cole Butcher, Hudson’s father, said.
Hudson loves sports, not just basketball. In addition to the Jazz, he supports the Arizona Cardinals, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.
Every morning, Hudson goes downstairs and turns on MLB TV. On the way to school, he checks the scores from the previous night’s games on ESPN — the same network that interviewed him Thursday.
‘The best day of my life’
Hudson Butcher, 8, and his mom, Madi Butcher, toss a small basketball back and forth at their home in Sandy on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
When the Jazz held their annual open practice at the Delta Center on Monday, they wanted Hudson and his family there. The Butchers happily accepted the invitation.
Hudson had been to the Delta Center before to watch Jazz games, but on Monday, he sat closer to the court than he ever had before: behind the basket.
“Mom knew that we were going to sit by the hoop at opening practice and I never knew,” Hudson said. “She was just joking like she never knew where we were gonna sit.”
There, Hudson met the whole team. He told Peterson “What’s up?” and dapped up Bailey. Keyonte George ran up to him, picked him up and carried him around the court.
we had to make it happen 🥹
our favorite hype man is here and the guys are pumped! pic.twitter.com/22SFSHhtBm
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 5, 2026
That was one of Hudson’s favorite moments of the night.
“I have three: the signatures by the players, and the second was Keyonte picking me up and third, cheering on me,” he said.
At one point the entire team circled him and picked him up.
ALL HAIL HUDSON 🙌#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/b0hdRH62nW
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 6, 2026
Lauri Markkanen, Bailey, George and Isaiah Collier signed Hudson’s trading cards. He keeps them on display above his bed.
Mo Bamba, who opened a collectibles and trading cards store in September, had a surprise for the young card collector.
“He went to the locker room to give me a prize, which was Halloween giant packs, like three cards in a pack, and that was so much,” Hudson said. “So I shared with my brother, and (Bamba) gave me WNBA 2026 cards in a box. It was 150 cards in the box.”
Hudson Butcher, 8, looks through his sports trading cards at his home in Sandy on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
On Monday, Hudson wasn’t just getting autographs. He was also signing autographs.
“I think the craziest thing for Hudson is all the people that were wanting to take pictures with him,” Madi Butcher said.
When he grows up, he wants to be either a professional basketball, football or baseball player. Playing for the Jazz would be a dream come true.
Until then, he’ll continue cheering on his favorite team, willing the Jazz to win an NBA Finals, and remembering the unforgettable memories they gave him Monday night.
“It was the best day of my life,” Hudson said.