bssmith65

My Favourite Rising Stars

Since 2014 I have played the NBA 2K franchise every single year. Recently in the last couple of years, I’ve begun getting extremely competitive with one of my good friends Ethan Hottot in a particular game mode called Connected Franchise. Each team is controlled by a person and you have full control of the entire team to play with, trade and hopefully win a championship.

While playing Ethan and I began trading for these young players who we thought had the potential to be killers. These players included young ballers like Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr., Romeo Langford, and Zach Lavine, all players who this year have made some serious splashes in the 2019-2020 NBA season. These players have played inspiration for today’s topic, my favorite rising stars in the league today.

Kelly Oubre Jr.

Going by the nickname Tsunami Papi, Kelly Oubre Jr. is most defiantly the waviest player on any court he steps on. The Phoenix Suns acquired the young winger from the Washington Wizards in 2018 for basically scraps and Oubre has made the Wizards pay for sleeping on his potential. Averaging 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists Oubre has begun to break out and not only have the stats shown his growth but also his array of highlights this season.

Not only do I love the way the 24-year-old balls out, but the swagger he carries on the court also lifts his game to different heights for me. Sadly for Oubre, his breakout season has come to a depressing end as he underwent knee surgery on March 3, I look forward to what the new face of the Converse shoe line can do in years to come.

Ja Morant

The explosive rookie out of Murray State has had my eye for quite some time. I remember the first time I saw Ja the world was busy going crazy over the 250 pounder Zion Williamson over at Duke.

I immediately fell in love with the tiny underdog who week after week was seen attempting some of the craziest dunks I’ve ever seen for a guard his size. Since being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies he has shown off how well his game has transitioned to the big leagues. Looking like an early Rookie Of The Year Candidate while averaging 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7 assists Ja has the award on lock as long as he can keep up his impressive play.

Moving forward I’m just hoping Ja will learn to execute this dunk and maybe just maybe I can see the kid becoming my all-time favorite player years down the line.

Collin Sexton

The Young Bull has been on an absolute tear as of late. Averaging 20.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists the young star has become one of the hidden gems of the league. Playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers Sexton has managed to slip under the radar of most casual fans.

A beast on the defensive end he constantly plays with a level of intensity that no player can manage to match. In today’s league, it is filled with players who don’t take the game seriously and that’s exactly the kind of person that Sexton is not and that is why I love what he can prove moving forward.

Braydensmith6599@gmail.com

(289)-688-4359

1617 Badgley Dr.

Oshawa, Ontario L1K0H2

Canada

The NBA & I: A Love Story

I’ve been sitting here, at my desk for the last two hours trying to figure out the best way to tell you how I fell in love with the game of basketball.

I tried to be funny, I attempted to be sentimental and nothing worked. I thought maybe if my brain could work half as hard as Kobe Bryant did every time he stepped on the court then maybe, just maybe, I could come up with the best way to introduce my first blog post.

Well that was it, that’s all I came up with. So without further ado, enjoy the story about how I fell in love with the game.

We begin our journey in the year 2014, a young Brayden is entering his first year of high school. A stereotypical Canadian kid who lived and breathed hockey. Looking back on it, I see that i was so narrow-minded, I refused to believe there was a sport better than the game of hockey so why would I give anything else my attention.

Then this…

I had broken my arm in a freak hockey accident. This incident would take me out of hockey for the foreseeable future, my career in hockey had peaked, and so did my interest for the sport. I would spend the next couple weeks in and out of hospitals and bedridden because of surgery.

Luckily, the Toronto Raptors were piecing together their first playoff team since the 2007-2008 season, literally when I was eight years old. Led by Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan, they had captured the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48-34 record and more importantly, my attention.

Being bedridden meant I had been watching quite a bit of television. Whenever anything NBA related was on, you could bet I had it on my screen.

“I was in charge of making sure Brayden was resting. Let’s just say when the evening rolled around and basketball hit the screen he was doing anything but that. “
-Sandra Lynn Wilson (my grandma)

I recall one specific day that i remember so fondly. It was prior to Game One of the series between the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets. GM of the Raptors, Masai Ujiri took to the stage at Jurassic Park, to make an announcement to the fans.

That right there, that was the moment I knew basketball was going to take over my life. Seeing such an important face of the franchise at a fan event doing whatever it took to get his fans into the playoff spirit. He sold me.

Now lets get back.

I’ve spent the last six years of my life studying basketball’s past and witnessing historic NBA moments unfold in front of my eyes. I watched as Kobe dropped 60 points in his farewell game, LeBron James lead the greatest comeback of all time and my personal favourite, watching my Toronto Raptors win the NBA championship.

I just wish that I had been conscious of what the NBA had to offer sooner. Maybe I could’ve appreciated Kobe’s 81-point game, or the impact of LeBron’s “Decision”. One thing is for sure, I will never take a special moment in the NBA for granted. I’m just fortunate that I fell in love with the game when I did. From the inspiration it draws to the entertainment it provides, the NBA has stolen my heart and it can keep it.

Brayden Smith

Braydensmith6588@gmail.com

(289)-688-4359

1617 Badgley

Oshawa , Ontario L1K 0H2

Canada