OVO's Niko Carino talks becoming owner of the newest CEBL team, the Scarborough Shooting Stars

The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced that the Scarborough Shooting Stars will become its first Greater Toronto Area-based team.

Nicholas ‘Niko’ Carino, one of the founding members of Drake's OVO brand, and Sam Ibrahim, one of the founding members of Playground Global, a privately owned basketball complex in Scarborough, have been revealed as the owners of the club.

Both born and raised in Scarborough, Carino and Ibrahim are honoured to promote the dream-big mentality and encourage the next generation of young dreamers to go after their goals.

They are working toward the shared objectives of creating immediate jobs and career pathways for young people to pursue their passions and expanding opportunities to grow the game of basketball.

Carino told Etalk's Tyrone Edwards that he's letting things that he's passionate about lead him to whatever he does.

"It's definitely a dream come true. Music, obviously, and basketball was my first love growing up playing the sport. It's a dream come true for me to say that I own a team in Scarborough where I'm born and raised," Carino said.

Carino said the most important part for him is creating more opportunities for local youth.

"Whether it be in sport or music or fashion, whatever they want to do. I think that that's like the main purpose just to inspire the younger generation and creating different opportunities for them," he said.

The CEBL runs May through August and has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro sports league in the country, with 75 percent on its current roster hailing from Canada.

The expansion franchise will begin when the 2022 season opens next May.

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