Home Game: Toronto Loves Basketball
Basketball has been an integral part of Toronto’s story for over a century.
From the invention of the game to the rise of the Raptors and beyond, Home Game: Toronto Loves Basketball explored how basketball and the city grew together—through culture, identity, and community.
The exhibition traced Toronto’s deep connection to the sport, from its Canadian origins to the first women’s games in 1895, and from the Toronto Huskies’ groundbreaking 1946 matchup to the global excitement of We the North.
Visitors encountered a dynamic mix of films, photographs, personal stories, and memorabilia, each revealing how the game became a reflection of the city itself.
Home Game also highlighted local stories of community courts, fan culture, and grassroots leagues that continue to define Toronto’s basketball identity today.
Plan Your Visit
On now until October 12, 2025
Home Game Exhibition
Toronto basketball exhibit reveals how the game became part of the city's cultural DNA, through iconic milestones and untold moments,
- Harbourfront Centre, 225 Queens Quay West
Events
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September 20, 2025 | 1:00pm-2:00pm
Curatorial Tours: Home Game
Join a guided tour and explore Toronto’s basketball history through curatorial insights, untold stories, and iconic artifacts that celebrate the city’s deep connection to the sport. Discover how basketball shaped generations of Torontonians from community courts to professional dreams.
- Harbourfront Centre, 225 Queens Quay West
Video
Playlist
Watch the Stories Come to Life
These videos feature several Torontonians whose lives and work are deeply tied to the game: players, coaches, journalists, community builders, and cultural leaders. Across short, focused stories, they reflected on first basketball memories, the rise of powerhouse high-school programs (Eastern Commerce, Oakwood), the growth of prep academies, the Raptors’ influence, barriers and access, women’s leagues and the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo, and the tight weave between hoops, hip-hop, and neighbourhood identity. Together, these voices traced how basketball shaped and was shaped by Toronto’s diversity, from grassroots gyms to the global stage.
Basketball Exhibition Playlist
- 401 Richmond Street West
Read
Toronto’s Basketball Story
How a Canadian invention became the heartbeat of Toronto — from playgrounds to pro courts.
Article • 8 min read
More Articles
More About the Project
Curation Team
Home Game: Toronto Loves Basketball was co-curated by Sarah Bay-Cheng, Kayla Grey, and Perry King.
Research & Interviews
Additionally, special thanks go to Katie Heindl for research support and to our interviewees whose stories shaped the exhibition: Luke Galati, Dalton Higgins, Jamaal Magloire, Anthony Miller, Lee Anna Osei, Chris Penrose, Ro Russell, Lou Sialtsis, Tamara Tatham, and Alex Wong.
Featured Artists
We recognize the talented artists whose work is featured: Casey Bannerman, Briony Douglas, Dr. Jenny Kay Dupuis, O’Shane Howard, Mark Stoddart, Mallory Torcher, and Kelly Wan.
Presented in
Partnership with
Learn More About our Artifacts
The exhibition featured a dynamic mix of films, photographs, personal objects, and memorabilia.
Drawn from the TDSB, the City of Toronto, MLSE, and individual collections, these pieces offered remarkable insight into the city’s history. One object told a story of community, another of culture, and others of Toronto’s evolving identity.
Together, they bridged the past and present through artifacts that matter.