Montreal-raised NBA star Chris Boucher makes time for his second passion: helping his community

Toronto Raptors star Chris Boucher may make basketball look easy, but his rise to stardom was born from humble beginnings.

"I lived in Montreal and I've seen what it is not to have anything and being a kid trying to figure out ways to have opportunities," Boucher told CTV News.

The NBA player was born in St. Lucia and moved to Montreal North when he was five. At 16, he quit school and worked as a dishwasher at St. Hubert chicken.

At the relatively late age of nineteen, he was spotted playing pick-up basketball and eventually was offered a spot in an amateur league.

The rest is history.

He says he's always been a generous person.

"When I didn't have anything I was always a giving person so it feels good to be in a position to give back," he said.

Now that the ball is in his court, he's using the opportunity for his other passion: helping his community.

"When I got there, we sort of figured, you know, what would be the best? How can we help? But obviously we know a lot of there's a lot of issues in the world, but how can we help? Not only in basketball but in general. That's where the foundation came in," he said.

Boucher created Slimmduck Foundation to support youth in communities across Canada, particularly in Montreal and Toronto.

"We realized that there's a lot of kids in need , there's a lot of people that are struggling. Families immigrating to Canada, so we try to figure out ways and just try to be just for them and give them a good head start," Boucher said.

He received the Montreal Community Cares award on Friday night at his A night of laughter" fundraiser, which raised funds for his foundation.

"That's really exciting. It just show how much work we've been putting in, the great team I have... and obviously that it helps us to make a bigger plans for the future," he said.

He may be an NBA star, but when he's back home, it's all about his family.

"As soon as practice ends, I go home and shower and get to see my mom," he said. "She helps me to stay above water."