Scotiabank Arena

So I recently had the opportunity to go to Scotiabank Arena (home of the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs) and play on the court, get an arena tour and talk to the officials behind the Toronto Raptors program. Being a huge basketball fan and a player, this was a dream experience for me. This write up will hopefully give you the experience as best as you can imagine it.

Just some quick context: our team won a contest and we (along with 8 other basketball teams in Ontario) got an exclusive tour to Scotiabank Arena where we would play on the court and go through some of the drills NBA players do daily, get a behind-the-scenes tour to the Raptors and Maple Leafs locker rooms and the practice courts, and learn how they ate and how they managed to grow so tall.

So where do I start? Let’s start from the line. So the event started at 11, but I arrived at 10:45 with my team. Since it was my first time at Scotiabank Arena, I was stunned by the entrance, but to be completely fair, it was the VIP entrance that only the rich people and players used.

And the first thing (person, animal?) I saw was the mascot of the Raptors, who was doing a handstand. It was insane, but what was even more insane was that the Raptor was shorter than me! New weapon unlocked: calling the Raptor short😈.

And while we were waiting and waiting, the Raptor started taunting our team captain by pointing at him and dancing, and none of us came to his defence. It was hilarious to watch, and it was so funny that we didn’t even realize it had already become 11 and that we had to go in.

Once we went in, there was a bunch of check in processes and stuff that was really boring, then they took us to a seating place where we would wait for all the other teams to get checked in as well. It was here that we all started speculating who we would meet: Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, or RJ Barrett. This was because a couple days before the event, we had all gotten an email that there would be a special guest speaker from the Raptors that would come and talk to us. Being Canadians, we were all familiar with all the players on the Raptors, so we were trying to guess who would be there. I didn’t really care; I was just asking everyone if they had a sharpie or pen for autographs😅. I was going to get them to sign my Raptors sweater that I wore.

Anyways, that was pretty fun, talking and laughing and just soaking up the moment. It was literally (unless one of us got to the NBA) a once in a lifetime experience.

Once all the teams checked in, a guy started briefing us about the day and agenda. We had our own team leaders who would guide us through the day’s activities and bring us through the arena.

Then they told us to follow them to the court, where the guest speaker would be, and we were all really excited. Also, in case you were wondering, no one had a sharpie. And when we got to the court, there was no guest speaker, just the Raptor.

The first thing I thought when I entered was… the court was small. It looked so much bigger on TV and when the players were on it, but it was actually average sized. Also, the seats that the spectators looked hard when a game was being broadcasted, but in reality they were cushioned and kind of comfy.

Anyhow, the team leaders led us to the first spectator row behind the scoring table and told us to sit there. It was supposed to be a boring intermission… but my teammate had brought his ball by accident and we weren’t supposed to bring it. The Raptor saw the ball and asked for it, and he got it. What he proceeded to do, I would never in a million years have guessed.

He went to the half court line and shot it over his back like at halftime in the Raptors games and bricked it horribly. We all started laughing… until he came up to us and pointed at a random kid from another team, and hit this.

We were all frozen as that poor kid walked onto the court and took the ball from the Raptors hands. He was then pushed to the half court line and told to try and make the shot. The kid was shaking, but yet he tried it.

Disclaimer: he airballed really bad. Like, he missed the rim by 3 meters. The worst part? The Raptor didn’t let that slide. He dragged that kid to the three point line next and told him to try and make that shot. Another airball. Then to the free throw line. He thankfully made that shot.

Then… it happened again. The red dinosaur came up to the stands and beckoned for another one of us to come up. This time it was a 5’0 girl who looked like she would be blown away by one good gust of wind. She didn’t even bother to go to half court. She just went straight to the free throw line… to brick it.

And she didn’t get another try. Sent straight back to the bench. And then… my teammate got called up. We all froze even more. He stood up and went up to the court, and proceeded to make all his shots. Thank god for him.

The final kid to be chosen was a little black kid. He went up to 3 point range, airballed, went to the free throw line, missed, and was then forced to take a layup. He made that, but the funniest part was what came after. He forgot that the ball wasn’t his, so he was taking it off the court. The Raptor crossed his arms and even though we couldn’t see his face, you could feel that “really?” aura emanating from him.

He realized soon enough, and the Raptor was like “finally” and he held his hand out for the ball. But the kid passed the ball to him and didn’t give it to him, and it was a bad pass as well. So once again, the Raptor looked at the kid like ‘really bro?’ and again, the kid realized his mistake. He gave the ball to the Raptor but didn’t notice he wanted a high five, and started going back to the bench. Everyone yelled at him, and for a second he genuinely looked scared, but he gave the Raptor a high five and went back to the bench.

Red dinosaur the proceeded to attempt 5 more half court backwards shots, and actually in and outed one of them! But then an announcer lady told the Raptor to go to the locker room because the guest speaker was about to come.

He shook his fist at her before proceeding to lie down on the court and protest.

She seemed to not care, and called up the guest speaker(s), who turned out to be this random mental health lady who made sure the Raptors were in good mental shape and… JAMES WADE!!! The most auraful coach on the management.

This guy absolutely stole the entire interview. What happened in the interview you may ask? Well, they talked about tips to improve in basketball (that was a recurring theme throughout the visit), and also gave some insider information.

The tips were that you should have a hobby beside basketball to support you through times of injury, you should be passionate about what you do, to always keep yourself happy, and that you should never give up on basketball. Honestly, solid advice. The insider info, presented exclusively by Mr. Aura, was really surprising. Apparently, Collin Murray-Boyles is the funniest player on the team and the bench players have the most spirit, but the other things I forgot.

Oh, and the best part was when the Raptor started emoting behind the interview and getting told off. He took that a bit personally and decided to flip the chair over.

After that was done, the team leaders took us to the tunnel where, first of all, there were the best granola bars in the world, and second, we took photos in front of the Adidas x Raptors logo, and then they told us to line up inside the tunnel. This is where things got crazy.

You know how before every game, the teams run out of the tunnel onto the court? I bet you can guess what happened next.

Ya, it was pretty cool. But it wasn’t like the full experience because the team ahead of us were as slow as sloths so we couldn’t run onto the court like in the games. But nonetheless… cool.

After that, we got yelled at by the head athletic trainer because we were supposedly “slacking off” because we didn’t run onto the court. Then we got yelled at again to start warming up, which included butt kicks, high knees, floor sweeps, everything that a regular practice would have.

After that, we were asked to partner up into groups of 2 and a cone was placed in between us. I was partnered with my fellow big man Wesley, and that was a good thing because this drill was about reflexes. I got a massive leg span, and the cone was all the way down there, so if I went against someone smaller I would’ve lost all the rounds. Oh, by the way, the drill was we would have to listen for which part of our body to touch, and whether we had to jump or not, but when they said cone we had to get the cone. It was intense, partly because they added another part to it which was planks and pushups. I hate pushups.

There were 7 rounds, I won 4 and Wesley won 3.

Then it was time for stations. There was a shooting station, finishing station, dribbling station and passing station. We were split into 4 groups and sent to them.

I went to the dribbling station first. There, we were told to do some basic pound dribbles as a warm up, then we got into between the legs and behind the backs. The last part of it was just combo dribbles, like tween tween cross hesi between the legs spin.

Then we moved to the shooting station. There, we just did some shoot around. I am happy to say that I am averaging 10 points on an NBA court! My shooting form looked horrible though. Also the nets made such a good sound when I swished it!

Then off to passing. There we were told to use specified dribble combos and then pass the ball to improve our quickness and accuracy off the dribble. It was also really fun.

Then finishing. This was where I really loved it. Since I play center, most of those moves were important to me. Reverse layups, behind the backboard layups, jellies, etc. I enjoyed there the most.

Finally, it was time for a match. I didn’t have much playing time, but the show my teammates pulled off was amazing. Threes everywhere, absolutely dismembering the other teams, and by the end of the court time it was evident that we were the best players there.

Also for the time I was on the court, I got 5 rebounds in 3 minutes but that’s it. *enter sad violin music*

But that was fun.

After the court session, we went to the tunnel and met a guy who would take us on a tour of the arena. At this point, I had no idea what to expect. The arena was huge! But it didn’t cross my mind as they restocked the granola bars.

They took us back upstairs and to the sitting place where we entered, where we were allowed to walk around for a bit while everything got sorted out. Apparently two teams couldn’t be in the same place at one time, which was interesting, but not relevant. So there we were, just standing around, and then we got called to rally around the guide.

After a head count, we started heading to the court to start, and then through the tunnel. More granola bars! And then the tour started.

I forgot the first part, but when my brain started recording the moments we were going to the maple leafs locker room. The door genuinely looked 🔥. It was opened by a keycard that the guide had and let us use to open the door.

And then… thunk. Hiss. The door started opening like elevator doors, but like 100x smoother. It lowkey reminded me of those movies where an alien steps out of the elevator in the most nonchalant entrance ever.

Anyhow, the first thing I saw was a giant illuminated Maple Leafs logo on the wall, and a hall leading to that logo. At the end of the hall, it split into two; one to the locker room, another to a place that we didn’t explore. Nothing that impressive so far.

Then we entered the actual room, and my initial reaction was, “wow.” That’s it. Wow. It was modern like never before. There was a game board, four AC units, a really soft carpet, and on the roof, another massive illuminated Maple Leafs logo. The roof also had these modern, like, ridges that looked like long scales.

And of course, the best part, the lockers. I mean, to be completely honest, they weren’t that impressive because they had no gear in them (the Leafs were on a road trip) except for Auston Matthews’s. He tore his ACL a couple days ago (thanks a lot Radko Gudas) so his gear was actually in the locker.

His skates looked majestic. His helmet looked… mmmmmmm. And his jersey looked… 😮‍💨. And before you think I’m just glazing, just let me tell you this. Everything in that locker was shiny asf. The glare was too much.

I took a picture in front of his locker as well as under the Leafs logo, then we headed to the Raptors locker room.

Now this was the part where it got spicy, because we thought we were only gonna see the locker room. But we went back to the tunnel (MORE GRANOLA BARS), and we were showed a restaurant with windows that could turn opaque at the click of a switch (it was really cool). Apparently the reason for that was so that the opposing teams players didn’t see inside it (if there was an event going on).

Then, after nicking more granola bars, we went to the locker room. You would never guess where it is because it the door looks really plain. But also because the keycard slot is literally hidden.

Speaking of keycards, the person who got to open the door was a massive debate that was settled with one question. “Who won the Raptors Rookie of the Year?”

We were all stumped except for one of our teammates, who correctly answered Scottie Barnes. He got the keycard and unlocked the locker room. No fancy hiss this time though. The doors opened on their own, but that hallway that was revealed was better than anything I could have imagined.

It was a hall of pictures of every player’s families with them. Vince Carter, Kawhi Leonard, Collin Murray-Boyles, etc. It made it so cool but also it made them look more human instead of untouchable executives. And at the end… a massive, black Raptors logo illuminated in red.

And then… the locker room. A circular architectural modern beauty. Red lockers with multiple pairs of shoes in them, a jersey with the players name and number, and on top of them, their name and home country flag. This is what it looked like.

Yeh, really cool. My heart felt like I was at home. It felt… full. I was really happy and amazed. And awestruck. AND it also occurred to me in that moment that if I got good enough, one of those names could be mine.

anyways, enough of the mushy stuff. We actually got to take the jersey from the lockers! I got Scottie Barnes because I’m a center. And also because he’s my goat. Then we proceeded to take all the picture in the world and thoroughly inspect the lockers for unique details, and we found one! It was in CMBs locker, a note from Adam silver saying congrats and giving him a sweater.