After the Toronto Raptors finish basking in NBA championship glory, many fans might be craving an off-season connection with the teamâs stars, such as Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green or Serge Ibaka.
But theyâll be happy to know that, beyond the teamâs official social media channels, plenty of the players each have their own things cooking.
Some quite literally.
SERGE IBAKA
When power forward Serge Ibaka isnât driving to the hoop, he trades his Raptorsâ jersey for a chefâs hat.
On his eponymous , he posts interviews, his charity work, behind-the-scenes clips and yes, cooking videos.
Some of his more videos, called âHow hungry are you?â, feature the Raptors star preparing meals with teammates such as Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, testing Jeremy Linâs sense of smell and even whipping up a feast for brothers Marc and Pau Gasol.
In some of his videos, the Congolese-Spanish player even whips out his fluent Spanish. In a viral video from âLive with Jimmy Kimmel,â he had him yukked it up en espanol with the late-night comedianâs sidekick Guillermo.
DANNY GREEN
Raptorsâ guard Danny Green will be one of the easier players to keep up with as he co-hosts â,â which is described as offering an âinside look into the life of a current NBA veteran.â
The podcast staRted late last year and he it with sports reporter Harrison Sanford, whoâs covered the league for years.
Theyâve interviewed fellow teammates, NBA stars and league insiders. Green regularly tracks down guests in between games, practices and news conferences.
JEREMY LIN
Although he was barely on the court during the NBA playoffs, the point guard hosts a with 675,000 subscribers.
Heâs created videos with popular YouTube personalities such as Nigahiga and KevJumba.
His popularity even led to a content partnership with Whistle Sports Network that saw him become the from the big major U.S. sports leagues on the platform.
KYLE LOWRY
Point guard Kyle Lowry doesnât have any big YouTube following -- besides others compiling highlight reels -- but he and his wife have founded the .
Since 2013, he and Ayahna Cornish-Lowry have been running the charity aimed at âimproving the lives of the underprivileged and disadvantaged of Philadelphia and Toronto.â
These include food drives, gift-giving programs during Christmas and free turkey dinners during Thanksgiving.
You can also keep up with Lowry and his family on his , where he posts pictures of his children, throwback pictures, and him joshing around with his teammates.
FRED VANVLEET
The Rockford, Ill. native is not only a massive star in Toronto but gets a lot of love from his hometown.
His city even held their own Jurassic Park festivities -- copying the fan-game-viewing area just outside of the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
But in his downtime, âSteady Freddieâ started his own apparel company Bet on Yourself, which heâs said heâs using as a way to learn the ins-and-outs of entrepreneurship.
KAWHI LEONARD
Although itâs still up in the air whether two-time MVP Kawhi Leonard will stay with the Raptors, you wonât likely wonât be hearing from him on Twitter. Or Instagram. Or anywhere online, really.
The âfun guyâ has largely avoided social media throughout his career and largely made his statements through his play on the court. Despite his apparent distain for celebrity, heâs made a point of using his fame to highlight philanthropy and being a role model for youth.
In his early years, he hosted camp for youth in San Diego, where he played college basketball, and Los Angeles where he is from.
During , he said he was inspired by Earl Lloyd, the NBAâs first African-American. And some that the way to gain Leonardâs heart isnât through offering him free condos, but through making donations in his name, boosting sports programs for at-risk youth or charities that offer respite care for families like Kawhi has done.
