MIAMI — The years have flown by. Many of them have children now who are nearly as old as they were when this all began as teenagers with bikes, a basketball and an idea.

“We were kids and bored in the summer,” said Jon Minkove, now 44, on the field at LoanDepot Park ahead of Wednesday’s Marlins game against the Orioles.

It began when Minkove was 15 — his brother Sam and a group of friends grabbed their bikes, pedaled to a nearby court and held a basketball tournament. The event continued every summer in a semi-organized manner, a “bragging-rights thing that we did for zero societal purpose,” Minkove said, and called it the Tour de Court.

Until his sister, Rachel, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

She died in 2012 at 28.

The basketball tournament then took on new life — it became a way to memorialize Rachel, with members of the community all gathering to play basketball and raise money for cancer research. This year, when the Tour de Court commences Sept. 1 in Pikesville, Maryland, the organization is raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Ulman Foundation and the Jewish Caring Network.

Thirty years have passed since the first tournament. In the years since, it has become much more than riding bikes and hooping.

“It’s a communal celebration of my sister’s life, who everybody kind of knew and loved,” Minkove said. “Before it became anything charitable, she made fun of us, but now I’d like to imagine she would love what it has become.”

But wait. Why are they in Miami again?

“Some of the guys who were originally involved in starting the organization have moved down here,” said Joe Rombro, who was one of four friends on the field pregame, including Minkove, Scott Zakheim and Dani Vanderwalde.

This became an ultimate dad trip, coupling organizational outreach with a chance to watch the Orioles, their favorite team. Vanderwalde represented the organization when he threw the ceremonial first pitch with an Orioles jersey hidden beneath a Marlins one for appearance’s sake.

“To be able to get some notoriety and some press and some publicity down here, outside the Maryland borders, is awesome,” Rombro said. “To do it in the context of the Orioles, who are having a great season, is awesome.”

Over the years, the Tour de Court has extended beyond the original friend group. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has participated — and Minkove was quick to point out his squad beat Scott’s team in the 2022 final. The Oriole Bird attended last year. Former Baltimore Sun columnist Peter Schmuck has been a regular emcee during the opening ceremonies.

Those who compete in the tournament have the chance to win a gold helmet. It’s a bike helmet, painted gold, that bears the names of each winner since 1995 in Sharpie. And the winning team gets to hang on to the helmet for a year, like the Stanley Cup.

The real winners, of course, are the charities that receive funding from the event. Tour de Court has raised nearly $400,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since it began. The nonprofit Tour de Court has also sponsored a scholarship that provides up to $7,500 per year to support tuition expenses for blood cancer survivors under 25 who are attending vocational, two-year or four-year programs.

It’s a meaningful remembrance with a large impact for cancer research.

But it’s also light and fun, a community coming together, just as Rachel would’ve wanted.

“I think the big thing that everyone thinks of is, my sister’s biggest joy in life was bringing people together,” Minkove said. “And even when she was really sick, she liked to host parties and have people over. Everybody was well aware that she radiated life. It’s obviously a very tragic thing when somebody dies young, but this is an opportunity to have another party for her.”