A man who was born in Belleville is trying to lead Canadian basketball to the next level.

Al Whitley moved from The Friendly City at a young age (three) with his family settling in Victoria B.C., where he discovered his passion for basketball.

His time in Victoria is when he became childhood friends with NBA legend Steve Nash.

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Whitley (second left) with former NBA star and Head Coach Steve Nash (Photo: Submitted to Quinte News)

Whitley would go on to play college ball at the University of New Brunswick, before starting with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in 2001.

He would move from their marketing department to the basketball operations department, eventually becoming a special advisor to owner Mark Cuban.

Whitley would be part of the team’s 2011 NBA Championship team.

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“When you work in pro sports, it’s evident early on that some of the jobs can be thankless. You’re going to put in a tremendous amount of time, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the players and our coaches, even though just being a small part of it, but just an incredible feeling.”

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Al Whitley (second right) with Mark Cuban (second left) and other members of the Dallas Mavericks organization after winning the NBA championship in 2011. (Photo: submitted to Quinte News)

 

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“I was so incredibly happy for our owner Mark Cuban because of all the time and money and passion that he put into this team, and then obviously guys like Dirk (Nowitzki) and Jason Kidd, for them to have their moment because day in and day out to see these guys operate, you know these Hall of Fame-type players. Everybody on that team was special. When you’re around greatness every single day from ownership to players to our coaches, it’s a pinch me moment really.”

He says working with someone like Cuban shows you there is no substitute for hard work.

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“It’s really a profession where you can’t hide and the amount of work and attention to detail, learning some incredible things from Mark Cuban along that way but just the attention to detail. I classify him, he’s a blue-collar billionaire. He’s still grinding every day, you know, his work ethic is unbelievable.”

In 2017, Whitley would become the General Manager and Vice-President of Basketball Operations for the Texas Legends, the primary development team for the Mavs.

Fast forward to this past November, when Whitley returned to Canada to become the CEO of the Brampton Honey Badgers (Canadian Elite Basketball League), with the goal of creating a championship team.

Whitley says he is happy to get back close to the Bay of Quinte region.

“So coming back up here, I didn’t spend a lot of time in Belleville until recently taking this job and being able to go see my dad and some friends and family.”

Along with his father, he has aunts, uncles, a step-mother, cousins, and friends in Belleville and Quinte West.

Whitley says the CEBL, with the exception of the NBA, is the best basketball played north of the border.

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“I like to characterize it as a springboard league. It’s done in the summertime. Other than the Puerto Rico league, there’s not a lot of other leagues at that time, so it’s the perfect time gap for guys to come in. Some really, really talented players. We’re trying to create a family experience where you can come see some incredible professional basketball in your home country. These guys are trying to get to the G League and better jobs overseas, eventually the NBA. We’re hopefully a small piece in helping them develop to get to that next level.”