Banton living his dream with hometown Raptors

It's the dream of every aspiring young basketball player to be drafted by their hometown team, according to Dalano Banton.

TORONTO – It’s the dream of every aspiring young basketball player to be drafted by their hometown team, according to Dalano Banton.

And his dream was no different.

Banton made history this summer as the first Torontonian — and first Canadian — drafted by the Raptors when they selected him with their 46th pick, a night the 21-year-old rookie said was like double the pleasure.

“It’s just been a dream come true just to wake up and come to the Raptors facility. . . being drafted is definitely a blessing, but (to be drafted) by where you’re from is definitely like two dreams coming true at once.

“Everybody has been so welcoming and seeing people and them recognizing who I am . . . it’s just everybody embracing me and being able to show out for the city has been a blessing.”

Playing in his hometown can come with extra demands, but Banton said his friends and family — including a solid support team of his parents, grandmother and uncles — have given him space while he adjusts to life as a professional basketball player.

“They understand just not having the access to me, just to be able to stay focused, coming into the gym two to three times a day, I don’t have time to hang out and do all the other stuff that people might want to do,” Banton said after Day 2 of camp at OVO Athletic Centre. “Everybody understands the situation that I’m in . . . . They know I’ve been focused on just grinding and am focused on the future and what the future holds for me.

Banton grew up in Mount Olive, an area inside the hardscrabble Rexdale neighbourhood which sits northwest of downtown Toronto and was also home to hockey star P.K. Subban.