Latest news with #A.J.Lawson
Global News
5 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Canadian stars ready to take NBA final by storm. It wasn't always like this
For the second straight year, there will be four Canadians taking the court when the NBA Finals tip off Thursday night, but the Canadian content in this year's showdown between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder is very different from that of 2024. In last year's finals, Canada was represented on the victorious Boston Celtics by Torontonian Oshae Brissett, while A.J. Lawson and Dwight Powell, also from Toronto, suited up for the Dallas Mavericks alongside Montreal native Olivier-Maxence Prosper. Those four players are not exactly household names and were, for the most part, depth at the end of the bench. Fast forward to Thursday night and you will see the Thunder being led by recently crowned NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Hamilton alongside Montreal native Luguentz Dort, one of the best defenders in the game. At the other end of the floor, Aurora, Ont.'s Andrew Nembhard starts for the Pacers, while Bennedict Mathurin of Montreal plays a key role off the bench for the Pacers. Story continues below advertisement At least two of these players will win a title this year, joining Brissett and nine other Canadians who can boast that fact on their resume. And going forward, they all could play a key role for the Canadian men's national squad, a team that seems to be growing deeper yearly. The man who runs Canada's senior men's teams, Rowan Barrett, was once considered the best high school player in Toronto, before going on to star at NCAA basketball power St. John's in the early '90s. His move south of the border for college came at a time when, outside of former Chicago Bulls centre Bill Wennington, there were very few Canadians playing at the highest level of college, let alone in the NBA. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy But things began to change after Barrett's time at St. John's. While he was professionally around the globe with stints in France, Spain and Brazil in a decade-long professional career, he began to first notice a change in the Canadian landscape when he was coming home after each season abroad. 'Where there was always just hockey nets on the driveways as you're flying in, you could see the basketball hoops,' he said. 'All of a sudden, there were more and more basketball hoops on the driveways and I just think the participation level grew.' Around the same time, the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies brought the NBA to Canada, and while the latter's time out west was short-lived, it still had an effect on future Canadian ballers. Story continues below advertisement 'You have heard it, I think from a number of our players, saying they went down to the Raptor game, they went out to the Grizzly games, and they realized, 'OK, this is who I am as an athlete,'' Barrett said. Barrett said another factor in the Canadian growth was the explosion in the number of clubs playing basketball. While many were just playing in high school programs in the winter, kids began to also play for clubs in the summer and would travel to the U.S., which has allowed them to get increased exposure and hone their skills. 'I think it's vitally important to have clubs that are there to receive those players that want to play and grow and more and more coaches out there trying to help,' Barrett said. Plus, the internet has brought the world together, including those involved in basketball. 'I think the internet impacts things too, because now you can look and see another player your age and what they're doing in Indiana or in New York. It's not the first time you're seeing them sometimes or hearing about them,' he said. Barrett also credited provincial programs for their efforts, while noting that over the past decade, Canada Basketball has increased its investment in youth programs. Story continues below advertisement 'We've put much more resources into the youth ages than we did previously,' he said. 'To uncover them, to put programming there, to help to guide them and stream them, get to their parents earlier, give them advice, support them. And I think you see less and less kind of falling through the cracks.' Of course, Canadians often tout the fact that basketball was invented by one of our own, but the sport has been dominated by our American neighbours, which plays a role in the growth here as well. 'We're one of the best countries in the world for talent in and of ourselves and additionally, we're right beside the country that is the number one for producing NBA players in the world,' Barrett said. 'I think it's just a rich mix of things, kind of altogether, that is helping our players to get to these levels.'
CBC
02-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Newest Raptor A.J. Lawson aiming to represent Canada at 2028 Olympics
Social Sharing When Brampton, Ont., native A.J. Lawson officially signed a contract with the Toronto Raptors this spring, he called his parents on the phone and said, "I'm coming home." "The younger version of myself would probably tell you, 'No way,'" Lawson told CBC Sports. "But at the same time, I always had that belief that I'd be in the NBA one day, no matter what team." Lawson went undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft after playing two years for the University of South Carolina. From there, he had stints in the CEBL, then for the Minnesota Timbervolves, the Dallas Mavericks and Raptors 905. The 25-year-old was playing in the G League for the Long Island Nets when he got the call to play in Toronto. WATCH | Raptors' Lawson riffs on growth of Canada hoops, Olympic ambition: 'I'm coming home:' Canada's A.J. Lawson talks joining Raptors 18 hours ago Duration 0:50 In March, Lawson scored 32 points off the bench of the Raptors against the Washington Wizards — a career-high motivated by the goal to prove himself on the court. "The underdog mentality. I've just always wanted to be a better version of myself every day. I feel like the opportunity I got with the Raptors… I got out there, I saw my family in the crowd, it was all that motivation I needed right there," Lawson said. Hometown kids staying local While he says he's looking forward to playing with the entire Raptors roster, Lawson is perhaps most familiar with one: his childhood teammate RJ Barrett. The two Toronto kids played together for the Brampton Warriors, and in Grade 9 at St. Marguerite d'Youville at Brampton. "Being teammates as NBA players it's been amazing. I feel like we already had the chemistry from Day One," he said. "A lot of the points I scored came from RJ because he knows the spots I like." Gordie Herbert to begin coaching Canada's senior men's basketball team in 2026 Lawson also briefly played with Toronto's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is a top contender for league MVP for his oustanding season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. "It just shows that Canadians got game. From 10 years ago till now, I feel like we tripled, quadrupled the number of Canadians in the NBA and it just shows that Canadians can hoop," he said. WATCH | Raptors hoping to continue trend of finding homegrown talent: Meet the Toronto Raptors' newest player 2 days ago Duration 7:23 The Toronto Raptors are hoping to continue the trend of finding homegrown talent and turning them into stars with Brampton's A.J. Lawson. The player has just signed a new two-year contract with the team after originally signing in December. CBC's Dwight Drummond sat down with him to talk all things Toronto. Olympic dreams Lawson last represented Canada at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers in 2021. He says that competing for the country gives him an "extra boost" to his game, and his goal is to be a part of the roster representing Canada at the next Summer Olympics in L.A. "My goal is to be in the 2028 Olympics," he said. "I feel like I can definitely help the team, just my spirit, defensive energy and offensive game, I feel like I can be a key part of that team."
Fox Sports
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Rebounding Raptors set single-game record with 73 boards, and four players with at least 10
Rebounding Raptors set single-game record with 73 boards, and four players with at least 10 Updated Mar. 11, 2025 12:20 a.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — A.J. Lawson and his hometown team in Toronto became the rebounding Raptors on a record-setting night. Lawson made seven 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 32 points, and also had 12 rebounds while being one of four Toronto players with double-doubles in a 119-104 win over Washington on Monday night. The Raptors had never before had a quartet of players with at least 10 rebounds in the same game. 'I've probably been dreaming about this, who knows how long, since I first touched a basketball,' said Lawson, who played only his 10th game with Toronto while on a two-way contract. "I'm a Toronto kid. ... To have a performance like this, it just means everything.' The Raptors set a single-game franchise record with 73 rebounds, the most by any team in the NBA this season, and the most by any team in a regulation game since they joined the league 30 years ago. ADVERTISEMENT RJ Barrett, like Lawson a 24-year-old Toronto native, had 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Scottie Barnes had 14 points and 13 boards, while Orlando Robinson finished with 13 and 11. 'Man, it's like a full-circle moment. We've been playing together since middle school,' Lawson said of Barrett. 'Just being on the court with him as a Raptor, both Canadians, what a blessing.' The Raptors (22-43) had more than 20 offensive rebounds for the third game in a row, which is a franchise record that may not be as positive as it sounds. They had 28 offensive boards against Washington, getting plenty of opportunities since they shot 39.5% on 43-of-109 field goals, matching a season high for attempts. They had 33 second-chance points. In a 118-117 loss to the NBA-worst Wizards on Saturday, Toronto had 35 second-chance points with 22 offensive boards. 'It would not be fair to say that we did anything different today than we do the whole season,' Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. 'Yes, we are focusing a lot on offensive rebounding, and we also focusing on offensive rebounding in many games.' 'I don't think it was just the message tonight," he said. "Also, we did not shoot the ball necessarily well. We got a big number of shots up, so those were opportunities for us to be more aggressive and then get those.' ___ AP NBA:
Associated Press
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Toronto native A.J. Lawson paces 4 double-doubles for Raptors in 119-104 win over Wizards
TORONTO (AP) — Toronto native A.J. Lawson made seven 7-pointers while scoring a career-high 32 points, and he also had 12 of the Raptors' franchise-record 73 rebounds in a 119-104 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night. The Raptors (22-43) had four players with at least 10 rebounds in the same game for the first time in franchise history, and all had double-doubles. Their 73 rebounds are the most in the NBA this season. Scottie Barnes had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Toronto, and RJ Barrett finished with 14 points, 10 boards and eight assists. Orlando Robinson had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Sarr had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the NBA-worst Wizards (13-50), who had won their previous two games, including two nights earlier in Toronto. Jordan Poole also had 16 points while Tristan Vukcevic had 15. Takeaways Wizards: Already without veterans Khris Middleton (ankle) and Marcus Smart (right index finger), the Wizards lost starter Bilal Coulibaly with 3:36 left in the first quarter after he landed hard on the floor after being fouled on a shot. He missed a free throw, and then departed because of right hamstring tightness. Raptors: A nice rebound for the Raptors two nights after a 118-117 loss when Jamal Shead's running layup at the buzzer was ruled to be late after the team was already celebrating what it thought was a victory. Barnes had a dunk and a run-ending layup as Toronto went ahead to stay with a 10-0 spurt in the first 3 1/2 minutes after halftime. Key stat Toronto had 28 offensive rebounds, leading to 33 second-chance points. Up next The Wizards play at Detroit on Tuesday night. Toronto stays home to host Philadelphia on Wednesday. ___ ___
