From Homeless at 16 to NBA Champion: Chris Boucher

Chris Boucher grew up in Montreal in a tough neighborhood where, he says, “there’s a lot of drugs, there’s a lot of crime, there’s a lot of gangs," eventually becoming homeless and drifting from one friend's house to another. Then, he found basketball. From undrafted and injured to NBA champ, Chris has reached the top of the mountain - but he's nowhere close to stopping. VICE Sports ventured up north to Toronto to see just how Chris intends to be the best player on the court, bar none.
Created with the NBA G League.
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[@louissehighlights6783]

Who's here after Boucher played great and helped the Raptors win against the Lakers tonight? I'll be watching you, kid. You have so much potentials. Let's go Raptors! #WeTheNorth

[@keewo8097]

Should’ve seen him in his younger years at thetford

[@ionly6805]

His mom chose a man over her 16 year old son smh absolutely disgusting

[@taemac10]

Alot of ladies do!!

[@juanherrera32]

IonlyROBwhite DrugDealers the story of my life

[@granxtheftxaltcoin9644]

Happens all the time

[@ionly6805]

@@granxtheftxaltcoin9644 I can't imagine this happening all the time. That is crazy

[@taemac10]

@@ionly6805 It really does!!

[@CFrancisBasketball]

Imagine choosing a man over your son who is a minor... Crazy. (I don't know the full details, but still. Crazy)

[@alk4262]

CFrancisBasketball Lol I think he admitted he was difficult to deal with as a kid

[@taemac10]

@@alk4262 He never said that. He said he did things to keep him out of trouble lol. His mother was just upset with him because he would come home late because he was playing basketball.

[@yourfriendlyneighbourhoodvue]

Now look at him

[@carlosmartin2275]

@Jason but still kick a minor out ?

[@ovodrew486]

Anyone else wanna focus on the grind part? Or ya still upset that a 1y year old grown kid had to sleep on his friends couch when he ran away lol. This era has become so soft and sensitive you missed the whole video because you’re focused on the mom....

[@matthewdelapaz2085]

Man this guy played a whole game on a torn ACL. Tough 😤

[@MrFuubs]

"A little bit of confidence and an opportunity" that statements so powerful.

[@bboxxstance]

So happy for this guy. Still a growing career in Toronto but I think he's already won the hearts of most hardcore fans. He'll be welcome in Toronto forever.

[@jonwhick3073]

Yeah getting more mins and time this year

[@jasonr5036]

Ran into this guy bare times he’s mad cool

[@alwayscreatingio]

haha yea I see him everywhere

[@jasonr5036]

Steven Van he’s mad cool good to see a guy like him prospering

[@Growingchannel637]

Yo word where do u see this guy?

[@alwayscreatingio]

Funny boss Content saw him at a gas station in mississauga, seen him at square one too

[@Growingchannel637]

Steven Van did you talk to him?

[@bikedudes2600]

Anyone else here after watching this man clap the lakers?

[@ballislife6483]

The raptors got the best player scouting and development in the league. Better than spurs no cap

[@zahir2942]

Ballislife you cappin

[@spicyp8477]

@@zahir2942 no one wants to stay in raps, we actually had players like spurs but no one stays 😞

[@thatoneguyiveseen]

no cap

[@joeylaker724able]

Fuck no Spurs have been doing it for 25+ years

[@bombkita]

Sesh Spurs spurs have been slacking for years while raptors have been producing all star level players who went UNDRAFTED. Spurs got lucky steals in the draft, where as the raptors found diamonds in the rough that didn’t even get drafted.

[@yahussain1272]

Having a son...I cant imagine doing that to my child..I feel for him and wish him nothing but the best...glad he chose a good path

[@alwayscreatingio]

Glad he's getting an opportunity - he's been doing great recently I'm rooting for him

[@yoboichris89]

This comment aged perfectly

[@1xrex164]

@@yoboichris89 fax

[@gavinkalsch7757]

This Aged very great

[@Mustoppa17]

Grrrt

[@reformeddoomer6777]

Bravo chris je suis de Montreal et tu es un model pour beaucoup de gens.

[@LamontBoucherville]

🇨🇦

[@rohitshetty8205]

Reformed Doomer nice profile picture

[@atosrad3749]

Oui oui

[@diego5125]

Je suis content que tu as dit ca....Mercy

[@Jo-vy5ft]

He is just saying your a model player in Montreal and he’s congratulating him

[@yisoysauce3432]

"Sometimes you just need a bit of confidence and an opportunity, and you can get wherever you wanna be " PREACH

[@Abouunds]

His mother really kicked him out? Bruh that’s so rough

[@Barfieman362]

Same with Jimmy Butler

[@nyeeezy]

@@bosnianowitzkifan41 it wasnt actually about that but its okay. and they have been on good terms for years..

[@Glock7eventeen]

@@nyeeezy As soon as he got his life together, they finally got on good terms. When he was down & needed help, she kicked him to the curb. Fuck her.

[@georgeallwell5522]

what them I agree her mum is nothing but a bitch.. these irresponsible bitches are partly responsible for lots of lost kids out on the street

[@sacramentokingswillrise7525]

@@Barfieman362 Jimmy Butler had a Rough Way of making into the NBA. In High School, He had no D1 Offers.

[@just_nst2500]

Dude's name means "butcher" in French, seems like "killing them on the courts" is what he was destined to do :D

[@buffaloblack3993]

Oh is that what it means. We have some Bouchers in South Africa. Descendants of French settlers

[@matthewyeoman1847]

I keep pushing for a "Butcher" nickname for him. Hope it catches on!

[@dusk6159]

Demar ended him, that was some crazy stuff, but Boucher did great in 2020 as well for the Raptors and vs some of his matchups.

[@davidx6249]

2021 who's still watching this? This man's getting better everyday

[@slimxdemon3129]

Hes a mip, 6th man of the year candidate. The next kd or gianni's right here. Everyone's sleeping, the giant has awoken.

[@sneaky6ix]

This kid's a hero; amazing defensive player with serious hustle and what a smooth 3pt he got. Champion!

[@RushOurComplex]

I grow up playing with this dude. Insane story. Keep repping that 514

[@vinmara1224]

"so much has been taking from me so I don't look forward to things I live in the moment" big respect bro

[@Driving4bangers]

I’d say you really don’t realize how crazy of a story this is until you reach age 22 and step into the real work. One of my new fav players

[@gangtime8705]

He got haters early probably warriors fans as they lost him and they lost

[@Matthew-ir1wi]

Lmao, won a ring with them and against them

[@YonoME]

I lost brain cells reading this.

[@CallMeDeeWee]

Imma warriors fan but I like Chris because he is comming from Montreal like me

[@munix9351]

I pray God protects his heart and restores his challenges with his mum. He has a great character. Keep rising King!

[@sandevnimhan6660]

not with the mom.

[@MM-sf3rl]

So good to hear your story Chris. Best of luck!

[@benkova6925]

so keen, calm, and genuine. what a heck of guy, wish the best of luck to you!

[@felmage]

Mans deserves his bag. Love his drive and determination, excited to see how he progresses this year.

[@norseman8727]

This kid's a beast 💪 blocking Montrezl and Anthony Davis . He's fearless a lot of guys would just move out of the way Trez is a big dude . His skinny ass met him at the rim and denied him , it was the same thing with Davis he closes so quick . It was an honor to watch him play .

[@feifrancoischen6837]

Crazy to see how many of these players come from such a tough background... Having been through so much gives you infinite inner strength I guess. As to Boucher himself, he seems like a pretty humble guy who's putting work in ; definitely gonna be a superstar as time goes

[@heididelossantos4079]

Stay humble young king!! You’re gon be a legend one day!!! Keep getting better!!

[@mackenziemcintosh7228]

awww hes so cute protect him at ALL costs

[@yslpreach7287]

U got my support Chris im follow ur whole career and congrats on that ring and many accolades ‼️

[@tanielsimpson8857]

Keeps up the great work man bro blessings always man g

[@stacram87]

legend! So inspiring and absolutely love watching him play. Would love to see him have more minutes! Amazing Canadian 🇨🇦

[@11thWoods]

Great story! Rooting for dude!!

[@YULABEBE]

Boucher balled last night v. the lakers. Props to you man, congrats on coming up!

[@alwayscreatingio]

did great against the clippers too!

[@AnastasiaEs.]

So happy to see things worked out for him. What a touching story. Praying that he continues to thrive- Amen!

[@TayLybb]

Vice at its best. Solid video.

[@munkieboi8017]

Good looking out Vice for putting this video out

[@bennydimirco5073]

Quality story, quality piece.

[@youareinflames]

kudos to masai ujiri for having a talent to finding real gems that lots of people are too ignorant to look. Being a raptors fan, its nice to see a talented guy coming from home country. I really want to see him improve in lateral agility and IQ of the game be in the talks of great players

[@takitogr]

Well done. I love ppl who beat the odds. Inspire me to keep at it

[@mattecal6468]

Sounds like a warrior ❤️ May you be blessed!

[@aRealParadise]

Who is here after Raptors win over Lakers? BOUCHER!!

[@beastbuilder]

i love these kind of stories - pure inspiration

[@rutherjohngenobelolaylo6196]

111

[@OwolabbyAzeez]

Did y’all know it’s impossible to breath while smiling?? Kidding just wanted y’all to smile. Hope you have a phenomenal day. Get ya bread and all the crumbs too. Stack and act broke Ladies and Gents 🔥🙌🏾💯

[@yunan9610]

You're right, smiling is impossible

[@Seoulmanaja]

Don't know this guy at all, but I'm soo happy for him. Great story and sounds like someone that really has learned from his life. Great role model!

[@gs6827]

Incredible story, Montreal proud of you #514

[@arieeljarrat3515]

MONTREAL REPRESENT ! Don't sleep on him

[@FuShengAlex]

Has to come to Tdot to blow up though lol

[@alwayscreatingio]

canadaaaa

[@wlo2661]

oof he lived in montreal? what gang? lol gang in montreal is nothing compared to us lol

[@fatality1249]

w l o and you proud of that?? Lmao fkg dumbass...

[@Cornerkid82]

@@wlo2661 hahaha montreal north is another kind of breed my man the pocket where he from (lapierre pascal) is notorious. Even haitians coming from Newyork will say it was the most similar with them of any hood they seen in Canada. Montreal north riot footage should show you how rough it was, type it up. Lapierre pascal is only a corner and theres been a lot of shootings there over the years Never seen a Toronto nigga acting hard in Montreal, they know haitians here dont play.

[@jameswilliamson7235]

Who's here after he dropped his career high (21 pts.) to help the Raptors in their greatest comeback?

[@tmoney579]

Who's here after he dropped 38 and 19, new career highs 😄😄

[@tylerd8504]

his highlights from the g league make him look like an unpolished kd

[@lightworkergematria8465]

Mula mafioso yeah just don’t sleep on this kid. He needs some more muscle then minutes.

[@jyudat4433]

big ups to this guy. making canada proud fr

[@RatoyaBanks]

I love a good come up story. Good for him!!!! ✊🏾

[@MegaNingaBoy]

So happy for him to get 13.5 million dollars he deserves it, such a hard worker

[@Ahmedaphor]

This Kid has hella energy! Big Ups to Boucher!

[@72defender]

Bouch was crazy last night! Very happy he showed out against the Lakers of all teams under the glare of big U.S. media.

[@judekhan1114]

Congratulations BRO

[@JC-if5tu]

Love you Boucher! Amazing effort against the Mavs tonight! 🙌🏼🦖❤️🇨🇦

[@jonathandominguez2237]

514!! Montreal!! Glad to see one of our own making making a impact in the league!! I feel your story I went through similar things around that age... only makes us stronger 💪 go get it champ🏆

[@MiniSnowCamps]

BrownJoker 514 montreal le sang

[@gangtime8705]

He has 2 rings

[@hailemhailem1320]

2

[@innismor11]

..... two more than Chris Paul

[@gangtime8705]

Caп¡z Aпuв¡z your a stupid ass nigga he does not have a g league championship only two nba rings a g league mvp dpoy finals appearance summer league first team

[@craiggagnon8407]

@Caп¡z Aпuв¡z do you have one?

[@EvanReichert]

Gang time they literally won the championship while Boucher was going back and forth between the raps and the 9-0. He does have 2 rings

[@cjinl2428]

He's been killing it this year

[@Herodotus999]

I hope this young man goes far.

[@larrodagod2313]

Dope asl 🔥🙏🏾

[@CONN3C7x]

Can not wait for Boucher to get his minutes. This Kid is going to be a Star!!! Couch Put Chris in more. Let this Kid shine. He is ready...

[@karnige5804]

jesus raptors got aother future nba all star on their hands. insane

[@andrewjponcho8252]

One of Montreal's finest. Waaatch Uncle!!

[@blackbeanburger3357]

he gotta play more aggressive in the games. boucher has a lot of talent

[@leodaleon3335]

There's nothing that could break this kid hes already been through hell and back The World is Yours kid!!!!💪💪💪💪💪💪 you got a new fan here!!

[@butterflyflyhig8156]

Bet mom coming back

[@justingt3rs]

never in a million years would i have believed that a guy in montreal goes to alma to make it to the nba lol

[@jaybee9097]

well he is black after all so its not really that unbelievable, but no body in montreal or toronto gives 2 shits about basketball, there both hockey towns...

[@RaptorsHood]

@@jaybee9097 Cap, the raptors are the most successful sports team in all of Canada currently. Leafs are running themselves into the ground and turning Toronto into a basketball town.

[@joke0291]

@@jaybee9097 Yeah definitely an L lol. Toronto and montreal HISTORICALLY are hockey towns and always will be, but A TON of people care about basketball on the same level if not MORE than hockey in Toronto, especially over the past few years with the constant success from the raptors lmao.

[@jaybee9097]

@@joke0291 not even basketball will never ever be bigger than hockey in toronto....any team that wins will sell out but how many teams can sell out when they haven't won anything in over half a century? just before raptors started playing good there TV ratings were under 100k viewers LMAO....and even now leafs are still getting 10 times the viewers....keep dreaming

[@joke0291]

@@jaybee9097 it isnt about selling out lmfao. Its about the overall culture of toronto being looked at as a sports city, a passion for the culture of sports; that results in basketball being as big as hockey in toronto. Ex, the winningness of the raptors since around 2014 with their constant playoff runs that's led to sold out games, increase in tv ratings, etc and brought the city together, which is what you've seen in how the city as a whole has reacted to toronto winning since 2014 including their playoff runs plus its impact last year with downtown being crazy as shit from may to june. If the leafs ever get to a point of consistency, they'll be like that as well. but basketball will as well simply because of the culture of toronto, period lmao. Tv ratings werent under 100k, if so when? Ofc they are earlier on, there a young franchise that was only brought into the league in the late 90s???? The leafs have been relevant for how long??????? lmao basketballs gonna be as big as hockey if not bigger, and even if the leafs begin to win, basketballs gonna be as big; causs of the culture of toronto. Sorry about u being a hockey fan and the leafs just not going anywhere, hopefully they will soon for your sake! 😂😂😂

[@buksboucher2381]

Thank you Chris, You are a Champion.

[@kevinwu8275]

I can imagine some have the same background as him but have lived with a huge chip on their shoulder. Im glad this guy has made something despite the harsh upbringing.

[@Sikhislove]

Really happy for CB Dawg...great layer and stuck with it...much love..keep going the universe is your oyster.

[@shelvongomez5222]

🔥🔥🔥 keep doing your thing💯

[@tyjustglo]

saw him in the summer league this past year, knew he had serious talent.

[@Ledanielooo]

Mtl legend🤴🏾🙏🏾🏆

[@rovinmoonsammy8706]

Enjoy the fruits of you labor young man! 🙏

[@Mandem92]

Last night was his night! Godamn!!! 🔥🔥🔥

[@kamrinearles8854]

Loved it, thankyou

[@eneltheorist4535]

Deserves more minutes in the nba

[@PR1NCETD0T]

With ibaka out, he's actually getting a good amount of minutes.

[@rambo9122]

Love this Guy..and respect his life's journey

[@misty_fraction6994]

Boucher is amazing. He proved people wrong and is having a great season.

[@ThePeteLy]

Really inspiring dude and great for Canadians. Love how he always plays with a chip on his shoulder (just like the whole raptors team). He will continue to get better

[@Moonroofmusik]

Respect right here

[@norton4692]

Hairstyle is 🔥🔥🔥. Im currently rocking it

[@jffilms5843]

"Sometimes you just need a little bit of confidence, and an opportunity and you can get wherever you wanted to be" 💯

[@nomcebomasilela9489]

Well done!

[@ibrahimmurad1360]

who's here now where he's a contender for mip and 6th man of the year. Happy For Him

[@debrafernander7484]

Love you Chris Boucher , I'm your fan from BAHAMAS🔥🔥🔥🔥👍👍❤️💚💜

[@garliclasagna]

i love this guy, can't keep him down

[@tinhtruong2976]

He is manifesting greatness right now.

[@clarkpedican5766]

Bro, that's a Sad Story at the Beginning but a Beautiful Story in the Now. With the Cali re of Players that Chris is Dealing With on the Raptors Team, I'd only Say, Remain Hungry and Keep Winning by Constantly Putting in the Hard Work . Professional Sports are Designed for Winning Only and this Bro, is With a Winning Organization.

[@philphilphil]

Incredible.

[@ther.e.s.tcentre7364]

RESPECT

[@ajlen22_48]

Here after he dominated lebron and the lakers

[@Nectarman]

Real basketball fans are glad to have you here in Toronto. I've been watching you develop over years and believe you're the future of our team.

[@montaellis2860]

Good story. It's really inspiring

[@ItsMoat]

he really puttin montreal on the map, im proud

[@imranahmad57]

Always like you. Chuck always call your name. U r one of my favorite players even more now after watching this video.

[@nixdapogs]

I’m pulling for this guy👍

[@tobiaschaparro2372]

And he wasn't done, he improved sooo much since then. Defensive beast, added a 3pointer and is absolutely saving the raptors.

[@Medsas]

Bravo Chris,!