When I was 10 years old, like most Canadians, I thought hockey was my sport. But my parents weren’t in a position to handle the financial and time commitments of hockey. I remember sitting in my room, trying to muster up the courage to ask them if I could play. When I finally did, I already knew the answer.
Around that same time, my brother, my lifelong sports mentor, got me hooked on college basketball and March Madness. We’d cut out the bracket from The Toronto Star, glue it to a piece of cardboard, and park ourselves in front of our 24-inch television, waiting to fill in the results. It was the early ‘80s in Windsor, Ontario, which meant we became Michigan Wolverine fans by default. That was my basketball team. That was the team I cheered for.
That all changed in 1995.
By then, I was playing basketball in my driveway every single day. The sport my brother and I loved more than anything, now had a Canadian team in the NBA. The Toronto Raptors had arrived, and for the first time, Canadian basketball had a home at the highest level.
But before the Raptors, before Canadian basketball had a presence on the NBA stage, there were pioneers—players who proved that basketball wasn’t just an American game. One of those Canadian trailblazers was Leo Rautins.
“At just sixteen years old, Leo became the youngest player ever to earn a spot on the Canadian national basketball team.”
At just sixteen years old, Leo became the youngest player ever to earn a spot on the Canadian national basketball team. He then went on to play at Syracuse in the NCAA before making history as the highest-drafted Canadian to that point, chosen 17th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983. His playing career opened doors, but his impact on Canadian basketball was just beginning.
In 2005, Leo was named head coach of Canada's men's national basketball team, a position he held until 2011. Today, he continues to grow the presence of the game in Canada, serving as the lead analyst for Raptors broadcasts since the team’s inception in 1995. His voice, his insight, and his passion have made him one of the great ambassadors for the sport in this country.
Leo’s journey, the rise of the Raptors and the number of Canadians currently in the NBA, reflect the truth that I came to understand as a kid: Basketball is Canadian. It has always been. Canadian, James Naismith invented the game, and generations of Canadians have shaped it. From my childhood driveway to the national stage, from college hoops to the NBA, basketball is more than a sport in this country—it’s a part of who we are.
Jeremy Watt
Co-Founder
Province of Canada
A special thank you to Leo for taking the time to be a part of this collection and for telling his story.
