George ready for “hometown” NBA debut

Kyshawn George was raised in Switzerland so he never expected he'd get to play an NBA game in front of a "hometown" crowd.

Kyshawn George was raised in Switzerland so he never expected he’d get to play an NBA game in front of a “hometown” crowd.

But because his Washington Wizards are starting the pre-season against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in Montreal, where his dad was raised, he’s getting that chance.

“I never thought about it,” said George after a lengthy practice on Friday. “I didn’t even know that it was a possibility that existed.

“But yeah, I’m blessed that I have the opportunity to do that.”

His father Deon George was born and raised in Montreal but played professionally in the Swiss league, so Kyshawn — pronounced kee-shawn — was born in Aigle, Switzerland. The younger George went to high school in France and then played a year of U.S. college basketball for the Miami Hurricanes.

The six-foot-eight George averaged 7.6 points, three rebounds, 2.2 assists over 31 games for the Hurricanes last season. He started as a backup swingman but was promoted to a starter due to injuries.

Because Kyshawn’s grandmother, aunts, and cousins all still live in Montreal, mainly in the west island neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges, he knows the city well. It also means that, although he’s played for Switzerland’s under-16 basketball team, he’s been treated as a returning hero ahead of Sunday’s pre-season game against the Raptors at Bell Centre.

He said that all the media attention hasn’t been that weird because he doesn’t know any better.