#nbaxl

Natalie Achonwa rarely gets to spend time at home. When she’s not playing for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA, she’s overseas during the off-season, earning her true worth. I sat down with her for NBA XL to discuss the wage gap, her journey and overcoming adversity. Link in bio #nbaxl #ballislife #goirish #Fever20 #WNBA #weareteamcanada https://www.instagram.com/p/BvMUaImABWf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=5nwhtvhqkiet

The barbershop is a place where people gather to relax, socialize, debate and laugh while they wait their turn in the chair. There's always a subject to weigh in on and some do ...more passionately than others. Ironically, my first time talking ball on TV was for a barbershop segment on NBA XL, many years before I even knew I would be making a career of this. "The Line-Up" is a segment that brings that same feel and flavour to the new season. NBA XL premieres on NBA TV Canada on Thursday November 2nd. #NBAXL #NBATVCanada #ballislife #barbershop #NBA #hoops #TV

I’m generally pretty focused working, but getting my Devin Booker on as a last minute stand in for The Line Up, I got to have some laughs and fun talking about All-Star Weekend in front of the camera. #NBAXL #ballislife https://www.instagram.com/p/B8xBwOVl3vn/?igshid=1s2cru7g7cqnf

This is Danilo Djuricic, a junior forward at Harvard University. When I interviewed him a few years ago at St Mike’s, I asked “Why Harvard?” (despite scholarship offers from solid basketball programs) He looked at me like I had three heads and cooly said, “It’s Harvard and I can’t play basketball forever.” Last weekend the Crimson were in Toronto for a game at Scotiabank Arena (hence the smile). I spoke with him about playing at home & the program’s connection with Canadian recruits for NBA XL. 📸 @roclaroc #nbaxl #balliife #naismithclassic https://www.instagram.com/p/B5GiTbGFoUr/?igshid=h5v18jmsvum3

Would you rather get crossed or dunked on? We talked about this before shooting The Line Up on NBA XL. New episode “Adversity” premieres Friday on NBA TV Canada 📹 @blackdragonroll #nbaxl #ballislife #poster #crossovers #jumpman23 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqvn-ClAe5H/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ldf36u77z54x

You’re likely familiar with Kevin Ware from YouTube, not for highlights, but for gruesomely breaking his leg in the 2013 NCAA tournament. He played overseas and is now with the London Lightning in the National Basketball League of Canada. Ware sat down with NBA XL to candidly talk about redefining himself from ”the guy that broke his leg,” to a guy who loves and plays the game. 📸 @alexfrazao #NBAXL #ballislife #gocards https://www.instagram.com/p/BqasralAqDT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zq0779zgvj0

It seems like we can’t just live in the moment anymore. Always looking for “the next,” the next Jordan or the next LeBron, instead of letting these kids just be themselves. Since people are already looking past RJ Barrett, you may have heard the name Elijah Fisher; a 14 year-old, 6’5” phenom, that is already being heralded as the top of the 2023 class. This interview isn’t about him, but it’s part of a story for NBA XL on his school, Crestwood Prepatory College. A private school revered for its academic excellence, which has also turned into a basketball powerhouse on both the boys & girls side - largely due to Ro Russell. I’m not going to say Fisher is “the next” anything, but the hype is justified. He’s definitely GOT next. 📸 @alexfrazao #ballislife #nbaxl #basketball #storytelling https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp7GozLAweK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=fqfhuro633ik

For every Andrew Wiggins success story, there is a tale like Xavier Rathan-Mayes’. Both played together at Huntington Prep, and both landed big D-1 scholarships. But X wasn’t a one-and-done #1 draft pick out of Florida State University, he wasn’t even selected in the 2017 NBA Draft at all. His path was different. One of the things I love about NBA XL is that it’s a platform to tell stories, so we went to the Scarborough YMCA to hear his. Coming soon. 📸 by @xandraesworld #ballislife #NBAXL #scarborough #94feet #storytelling #kicksonfire #hoops