Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Jonas Valanciunas coming to NBA: Coming here, total different league, different culture, different language, different country and I was in Canada, now I got to adjust to Canada and then adjust to the US, so it was not the easiest thing to do but I had some people who helped me big time and I got comfortable slowly, step by step, teammates… I had Linas Kleiza with me at the Raptors. Another Lithuanian guy, he helped me a lot, put me in the right directions, translated for me. So, it was cool.
“Toronto is still in my heart,” Leonard said during a brief remark, noting that his son was born in Canada. “He’s from Canada, so we always talk about bringing him back and showing him where he was born. I just wanted to leave a blueprint out here.” A mural, which features a photo of Leonard’s iconic Game 7 buzzer beater in 2019, was also unveiled.
Given the statistical company he's keeping alongside the Raptors' leap in the standings this season, Darko Rajaković appealed to Canadian basketball fans to rectify the situation and vote Scottie Barnes into his second All-Star Game on Feb. 15 in Los Angeles. "And we need to get this right," said Rajaković. "Canada needs to get this right. Starts with us. Starts with our city. Starts with our country over here. We have 40 million people living in this country, 40 million fans of (the) Toronto Raptors." "Canada we need to get this fixed right now," he added.
Iman Shumpert: All in or all out; we will not have an American MVP for the next five years. Nate Robinson: Oh, that’s… I'm all in on that. I'm gonna tell you right now. Why? Because you got all the Canadians balling, you got the Greek Freak, you got Joker. I don't think there's going to be an American MVP in a while. Shumpert: So no Cade Cunningham, no Anthony Edwards. Robinson: They’ll have to deal with Wemby. I want Edwards to win, but if they play like the World versus USA, I feel like they have the upper hand right now.
We also asked him for his opinion on the All-Star Game, where this year Team USA will play against Team World. The NBA’s goal is to make the game itself more interesting. “I hope that’s true, but I’m skeptical it will happen. It would be great for the All-Star Game if Team World won. But I’ve given up on the All-Star Game. I don’t go anymore. Last year I didn’t even watch it. I couldn’t tell you a single thing that happened in last year’s All-Star Game. If the Americans play at full intensity and the World—basically Europeans and Canadians—play at full strength and the World wins, that would be great. I think the NBA would secretly love for the World to win, so there’d be a little shame among the Americans. But my problem is that I know there actually wouldn’t be any shame. When it comes to an exhibition game, Americans are just there to have fun.”
Advertisement
TSN: Reigning NBA and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins the Northern Star Award as Canada’s top athlete of the year! 🌟 It is Shai’s second time winning the award, first was in 2023.
Steve Nash on Canada’s chances to win Olympics: It's incredible for me as a guy who came in the league and there was Bill Wennington, who went to high school in New York, but I believe his roots are in Montreal and Rick Fox who was born in Toronto and moved to the Bahamas in like 14 days. So that was it for Canada. Now there's like 24 guys on NBA rosters, the MVP of the league, really really good players. I think for Canada, frankly, the third position at the World Cup was great was a great result for them.
Eleven years after his retirement from the Association, however, Nash says he is ready to yield his crown to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s going to be an inspiring figure for many generations of Canadians to come,” said Nash. “I have no problem anointing him the greatest Canadian player ever.”
According to Sotiris Vetakis, Olympiacos is considering Dalano Banton to complete the backcourt. The 25-year-old Canadian is coming off two years with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he averaged 10.9 points and 2.8 assists in 97 games.
Advertisement
Tomer Azarly: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander held a camp in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario in Canada this past weekend. Every camper received a solo photo with SGA and the Larry O'Brien trophy. There were also scrimmages and competitions held throughout the camp, where winners were awarded pairs of his new signature shoe with Converse, the SHAI 001's Butter. Shai got the last laugh with an alley-pop dunk to himself off the backboard. SGA and Converse are set to officially launch the SHAI 001's this Thursday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander held a camp in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario in Canada this past weekend.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 3, 2025
Every camper received a solo photo with SGA and the Larry O'Brien trophy.
There were also scrimmages and competitions held throughout the camp, where winners were awarded pairs… pic.twitter.com/BjrSxZufaS
Bryan Fonseca: Team USA led Brazil 68-58 after three quarters. Brazil dominated the fourth, outscoring Team USA 34-9. Team USA will play for the Bronze tomorrow. Brazil awaits the winner of Canada vs. Argentina in tomorrow night's Gold Medal game.
Libaan Osman: Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George on why he decided to suit up for Canada at the FIBA AmeriCup: “Off season was pretty long and I needed to get reps and play basketball. What better to represent your country?”
The Larry O'Brien Trophy will be in Montreal next week. Lu Dort, who won an NBA championship in June with the Oklahoma City Thunder alongside fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, will have a two-day celebration in his home city. On Aug. 20, Dort will be accepting a special invitation from Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante to City Hall. About 200 members of the sports community will be there to recognize his championship win and his dedication to youth in Montreal. The following day, there will be a homecoming parade in Montreal-Nord, the borough where he grew up.
