Beyond The Court Beyond The Court

Well, here we are, the NBA Finals. As the Lakers and Heat continue their quest for the illustrious Larry O'Brien trophy, the BTC crew reflects back. This week's episode focuses on the uniqueness of this year's NBA playoffs housed in the Florida bubble. The crew discusses the Raptors and Celtics series and also dives into what went wrong for Kawhi Leonard’s lead Clippers, a team many expected to challenge the Lakers and win this year's championship. The discussion then segues into earlier playoff match-ups and culminates with the crew reflecting on individual players and their accomplishments inside the bubble.

In this week's episode, Beyond The Court sits down with NBA broadcasting icon Jack Armstrong. For twenty-two years, Jack’s dynamic style has graced the airwaves providing colour commentary for the Raptors and NBA analysis for TSN. Jack drops some gems for the crew and gives his views on the social injustices taking place. The Brooklyn native discusses how basketball grew into a passion, his early coaching career and walks us through the transition from coach to broadcaster. He shares his thoughts on the bubble and reaffirms Raptor fans that this team is built to go deep in the playoffs, so far Jack is bang on!

We’re back! Beyond The Court sits down with a Canadian basketball legend, Sherman Hamilton. The crew discusses the future of Canadian basketball and the growing talent our country keeps producing. Sherman gives us a glimpse into his childhood and how his passion for the game has evolved over the years. The conversation shifts to his predictions as the NBA bubble enters its third week. Sherman also touches on the Raptors and why he feels confident they are in a great position to go deep in the playoffs and potentially repeat this year.

Do all dynasties eventually come to an end? Some take a break, rebuild and return. There is no question that the Golden State Warriors will go down in NBA history as one of the greatest dynasties ever assembled. That being said, some basketball fans, analysts and pundits all argue that there was a Dynasty in place before the signing of Kevin Durant. This week on Episode 13, the crew gets into a heated #entanglement while debating KD's decision to play for an all-star filled Golden State Warriors roster and how it has impacted his overall legacy as a player.

This week, the BTC crew sits down with Eric Smith from Sportsnet to discuss various topics as NBA teams finally arrive in Florida and start practicing within the Disney bubble. Eric breaks down the Raptors chances and how they stack up against their competition. Eric also discusses his close relationship with Jack Armstrong and how Jack’s mentorship and advice has helped him throughout his career. Eric leaves the team with some sound advice for those getting into broadcasting and touches on the value of having a genuine conversation.

Beyond The Court returns this week with another Special Edition as we are joined by Sportsnet’s very own, Donnovan Bennett. The crew gains insight into the genesis of Donnovan’s timely and inspirational essay, 'A movement not just a moment: Thoughts for my son on racism and sport'. The conversation then shifts to the much anticipated return of the NBA season as Donnovan shares his thoughts on the reopening. The crew discusses the Raptors chances of winning their second NBA title as they look to enter the bubble in the coming weeks. Finally, we close the episode with Donnovan dropping some knowledge and leaving us with much needed words of encouragement.