It was once said that \u201csport is a universal language, building more bridges between people than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
And although Leigh Ellis didn\u2019t know it at the time, he spoke that language one summer day in 2021, when he stepped onto the asphalt basketball court of Berlin\u2019s Mauerpark and gestured with his hands toward a couple of strangers to ask if he could shoot around with them.<\/p>\n
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\u2019d be flooded with invites to play on courts around the world.<\/p>\n
But there was one thing that Ellis was certain of in that moment. He had just spoken the \u201clanguage of basketball\u201d and experienced how it \u201ccan connect people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
And thus that unassuming itch turned into a burning sensation deep in his chest, telling him \u201cyou\u2019ve got to try something here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Which he did. Leaving his longtime career in sports media \u2014 much of which was spent co-hosting basketball shows like The Starters on NBA TV and No Dunks<\/a> with Canadians Phil Elder (A.K.A. J.E. Skeets), Tas Melas, Jason Doyle and American Trey Kerby \u2014 to chase the goal of playing 20 games in 20 cities through 20 different countries.<\/p>\n An adventure that took Ellis to places like Ljubljana in Slovenia, where he played basketball on the same court Luka Don\u010di\u0107 did<\/a> growing up, and then spent time hearing stories about the star\u2019s rise from his father, Sa\u0161a Don\u010di\u0107<\/a>. It also landed him in Manila, Philippines, where he met Kat Tan and learned about her special bond<\/a> with the late Kobe Bryant. It even brought him back to Toronto, where his sports media career began at The Score \u2014 welcomed by dozens of local hoopers, including former Raptor Matt Bonner and the NBA team\u2019s mascot.<\/p>\n A day that also reminded him of a valuable lesson.<\/p>\n \u201cBasketball 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n End of story, right?<\/p>\n Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first I was like, that was easier than I thought,\u201d Ellis explained. \u201cBut then I\u2019m like, OK, there has to be more than that \u2026 I\u2019ve been to EuroLeague Final Fours, I\u2019ve been a dunk contest judge in Brazil, I\u2019ve played in a cooling tower in China and I\u2019ve met local basketball identities \u2026 all these people and places that contributed to the culture of basketball around the world. And that\u2019s when it evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u201d being \u201cBasketball Passport.<\/a>\u201d The travelling hooper\u2019s love letter to the game, told through the stories of the courts and people around the world, written in the universal language of basketball.<\/p>\n An ongoing journey where he\u2019s learned many things about the game he didn\u2019t expect to, like the Balkan region\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Like leading basketball clinics<\/a> 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 \u201csouvenir\u201d from the experience.<\/p>\n His work also inspired the restoration of a historic court in Zagreb, Croatia, with ties to Hall of Famer Dra\u017een Petrovi\u0107. A moment that others are hoping they can recreate.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go to a country you\u2019ve never been to before, you play a meaningless game like pick-up, but you tell a story, and it takes you somewhere else \u2026 and now I\u2019ve had people contact me and say \u2018can you play in our city? We\u2019re fighting with the government just to put up new rims and nets.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when you see the impact you can have, that\u2019s what really inspires you \u2026 you\u2019ll remember that forever.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf7 This might be my proudest achievement. \u2014 Leigh Ellis (@LeighEllis) July 14, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n So, where is Ellis off to next?<\/p>\n He\u2019s actually back in Toronto, a city he still describes as \u201chome,\u201d where he\u2019s hosting another pick-up run on Thursday at a local court<\/a> (1091 Eastern Avenue). Ellis, along with Toronto-based hooper Chang Duong<\/a>, organized an event that\u2019s set to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will include plenty of bucket-getting, as well as competitions for prizes and giveaways.<\/p>\n \u201cToronto has a very special place in my heart,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cIt\u2019s where I met my wife, where we had our first child, where my career took off and I lived for nine years. I\u2019m Australian, but honestly, I feel Canadian. And I feel Torontonian as well. You can\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
After playing at Tu\u0161kanac 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<\/a><\/p>\n