It was once said that “sport is a universal language, building more bridges between people than anything else.”
And although Leigh Ellis didn’t know it at the time, he spoke that language one summer day in 2021, when he stepped onto the asphalt basketball court of Berlin’s Mauerpark and gestured with his hands toward a couple of strangers to ask if he could shoot around with them.
The Aussie also had no idea his son would take out a phone and record the spontaneous hoop session, or that upon posting the video, he’d be flooded with invites to play on courts around the world.
But there was one thing that Ellis was certain of in that moment. He had just spoken the “language of basketball” and experienced how it “can connect people.”
So, as his travels continued a year later, this time through Barcelona, Ellis decided to scratch that itch once again. He replied to a local hooper’s DM and was playing with him and another group of strangers shortly after. And then the same thing happened. He posted about it and was swarmed with messages from around the globe, asking him not only to show up and hoop, but also to experience what basketball culture in each place was like.
And thus that unassuming itch turned into a burning sensation deep in his chest, telling him “you’ve got to try something here.”
Which he did. Leaving his longtime career in sports media — much of which was spent co-hosting basketball shows like The Starters on NBA TV and No Dunks with Canadians Phil Elder (A.K.A. J.E. Skeets), Tas Melas, Jason Doyle and American Trey Kerby — to chase the goal of playing 20 games in 20 cities through 20 different countries.
An adventure that took Ellis to places like Ljubljana in Slovenia, where he played basketball on the same court Luka Dončić did growing up, and then spent time hearing stories about the star’s rise from his father, Saša Dončić. It also landed him in Manila, Philippines, where he met Kat Tan and learned about her special bond with the late Kobe Bryant. It even brought him back to Toronto, where his sports media career began at The Score — welcomed by dozens of local hoopers, including former Raptor Matt Bonner and the NBA team’s mascot.
A day that also reminded him of a valuable lesson.
“Basketball is so much more than a game. As a kid, for me in my little town in Australia, it was really about social gatherings. You met your friends from school, friends you grew up with and you learned about life there.”
Much to his surprise, Ellis knocked off 20 countries within 14 months, spending as much time off the court with locals, sharing stories over food and drinks, as he did on the court getting buckets.
End of story, right?
Quite the opposite.
“At first I was like, that was easier than I thought,” Ellis explained. “But then I’m like, OK, there has to be more than that … I’ve been to EuroLeague Final Fours, I’ve been a dunk contest judge in Brazil, I’ve played in a cooling tower in China and I’ve met local basketball identities … all these people and places that contributed to the culture of basketball around the world. And that’s when it evolved.”
“It” being “Basketball Passport.” The travelling hooper’s love letter to the game, told through the stories of the courts and people around the world, written in the universal language of basketball.
An ongoing journey where he’s learned many things about the game he didn’t expect to, like the Balkan region’s affinity for three-on-three style pick-up over five-on-five. But, along the way, Ellis has also done many things he never expected to.
Like leading basketball clinics in Nairobi, Kenya, on a court renovated by Giants of Africa, an organization co-founded by former Raptors president Masai Ujiri. And Ellis showed up with much more than a basketball. He also brought a bag full of apparel donated by NBA and WNBA teams to ensure each child had a “souvenir” from the experience.
His work also inspired the restoration of a historic court in Zagreb, Croatia, with ties to Hall of Famer Dražen Petrović. A moment that others are hoping they can recreate.
“You go to a country you’ve never been to before, you play a meaningless game like pick-up, but you tell a story, and it takes you somewhere else … and now I’ve had people contact me and say ‘can you play in our city? We’re fighting with the government just to put up new rims and nets.’
“And when you see the impact you can have, that’s what really inspires you … you’ll remember that forever.”
🇭🇷 This might be my proudest achievement.
After playing at Tuškanac in Zagreb, Croatia and highlighting how this historically important court had fallen into disrepair, my video prompted the local government to renovate it and bring it back to life pic.twitter.com/EfU4mx0x8J
— Leigh Ellis (@LeighEllis) July 14, 2025
So, where is Ellis off to next?
He’s actually back in Toronto, a city he still describes as “home,” where he’s hosting another pick-up run on Thursday at a local court (1091 Eastern Avenue). Ellis, along with Toronto-based hooper Chang Duong, organized an event that’s set to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will include plenty of bucket-getting, as well as competitions for prizes and giveaways.
“Toronto has a very special place in my heart,” Ellis said. “It’s where I met my wife, where we had our first child, where my career took off and I lived for nine years. I’m Australian, but honestly, I feel Canadian. And I feel Torontonian as well. You can’t live in a place that has such an impact on your life and not feel part of it. And Toronto to me is like coming home.”
The pair have also partnered with Soles4Souls Canada, a non-profit that takes lightly worn shoes, cleans and donates them to those in need. Attendees are encouraged to participate.
” … The city has given me so much, so to give a little bit back in the form of Basketball Passport, this is beautiful. It’s serendipitous in a way.”
Ellis is certain it’ll be an evening not just for basketball, but a time for old friends to catch up and new ones to be made. Because even if those first steps onto the court will be as strangers, with little in common and not much to say, everyone will be speaking the same language once basketball joins the conversation.