Chris Boucher knows a thing or two about getting a second chance.
Before he became a centrepiece of the Toronto Raptors‘ second unit and signed a three-year, $35 million (U.S.) contract, a young Boucher lived in abject poverty in suburban Montreal. He was once homeless. He dropped out of school. He washed dishes at restaurants.
Boucher also played pickup basketball, and when someone offered him a chance to play in an organized tournament, he shone brightly. Then he bounced around college programs before going undrafted to the NBA. But his luck changed when the Golden State Warriors signed him to a two-way contract, and he was eventually waived after his team won the NBA championship in 2018.