His Game Isn’t Over
A Pioneer Park basketball court keeps one young man’s spirit in play
On a quiet corner of Pioneer Park, a basketball court now stands where there once was only dirt, grass and a few weeds. Soon, the sound of rubber soles and the swish of nets will fill the air — the kind of sounds Kim and Larry Edinger still hear in their memories of their son, Kaden. He was 20 years old when an accidental overdose took his life in 2017. This court is how his parents are making sure his story doesn’t end there.
Larger than life at 6 feet 4 inches tall, Kaden Edinger was known for his easy smile, sharp wit and incessant charm.
“This court is such an emotional journey for me,” Kim says with a smile. “It’s not about asphalt and hoops. It’s about hope.”
Hope carried Kaden through tumultuous years of high school and early college, when battles with anxiety and substance abuse threatened the light he so easily projected into the world. An athletic and charismatic teen, Kaden excelled in basketball during his time at Senior High. The sport served as both a passion and an emotional outlet. For him, shooting hoops wasn’t just about competition. It was about finding a healthy alternative to help him work through his thoughts.
Life would quickly take a turn. Kim compares Kaden’s last months to a tornado. It was one he wouldn’t survive.
Late in his high school years, Kaden began using marijuana before moving on to heavier substances. His once-straight-A grades fell. Ultimately, he was dropped from the basketball team after getting caught with chewing tobacco and alcohol. He lost close friends and his sense of belonging. Despite attempts at counseling and family support, he continued to spiral.
On the night of his death — July 27, 2017 — he took a pill he believed was oxycodone, unaware that it was laced with carfentanil, a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
Kim hopes the basketball court will help people remember that her son was more than the event which ultimately ended his life. “As a mom, you want to protect them even after they are gone,” she says. “This is our way of doing that.”
Kim ended up partnering with Carol Keenan to form the “I Am More” campaign, highlighting Overdose Awareness Day in Montana. Carol and Kim share a tragic connection. Both know what it is like to lose a child to an overdose.
“Carol lost her daughter about six months before we lost Kaden,” Kim says. “She was my lifeline because she had also gone through the same heartache we were facing.”
The support this group provided caught on almost completely by word of mouth.
“People started finding us after losing a child and were desperate for the help we knew we could try to offer,” Kim says. It became the pair’s mission to remind families and community members that those lost to overdose are more than their last days or moments. A day of remembrance has been held every year in Billings since 2020.
When Kim and her family set out to construct a permanent way to keep Kaden’s legacy alive, they envisioned a space where others could find the same joy, camaraderie and solace Kaden found on the court. They found that space in the southwest corner of Pioneer Park. Fundraising began with a goal of $40,000.
“If we could somehow raise $40,000, there was a matching grant that would help get the project off the ground. It was our pie in the sky dream goal,” Kim says.
To Kim’s surprise, the grassroots effort raised in excess of $140,000. Through sponsorships and private donations, they had all the money they needed by the end of the summer in 2025. The project broke ground that fall, and concrete was poured in November.
In a true show of solidarity with his late son, Kim’s husband, Larry, stayed courtside that cold November night to guard the concrete until long after dark, ensuring it wasn’t vandalized or tagged. “Nearly every other court in town has had something done to it except for Kaden’s court,” Kim says with a laugh.
The family has been amazed at the outpouring of support and the stories shared along the way, proving how many lives have been touched by substance abuse.
“The whole reason for doing this is so people don’t feel alone,” Kim says. “It’s not a ‘me’ problem, it’s an ‘us’ problem. The fact that we were able to raise this much money shows that. This goes way beyond a basketball court.”
Because of the success in raising funds, she adds, any excess will be used to benefit other basketball courts across Billings’ parks, helping to make an even bigger impact.
As the project comes to a close, Kim reflects on the fact that even the physical location of the court is meaningful and is representative of Kaden’s personality.
“When Kaden died, we planted a tree in his memory in the ugliest, most abandoned part of the park. It was just a dirt field,” Kim says. “That was Kaden. He was always rooting for the underdog and finding beauty in the most unexpected places.”
Today, the Edinger family is looking forward to the day when the first whistle blows and they hear that familiar “swish” of the net as the ball sails through the hoop. From high-intensity community wide tournaments to a casual late-night pick-up game, Kim knows that her son’s story will forever be a part of the game he so loved.
“I think with this whole project, it’s more than a court,” she says. “To me, it’s about accepting people for their flaws and their mistakes.”
The family refuses to let grief have the final say. “If we can support one kid who lost his life due to an accidental overdose,” Kim adds, “then we can support anybody who is struggling with substance abuse.”
The family isn’t quite sure when the court will be ready for action. At the time the magazine was getting ready for print, the court still needed to be painted and striped. Early spring is the hope.
No matter who convenes at the park’s new court with basketball in hand, Kim envisions it as a “place where you can belong to something. Even if it is a pickup game.” She’s quick to add, “There is always somebody in their court.”
