Among the exciting young British talents joining the Super League Basketball fold this season is rookie guard Flynn Boardman-Raffet, who signed with the Leicester Riders after completing his collegiate career in Canada.
His journey to the professional game has been anything but typical — beginning not on the hardwood, but on the football pitch — and that unconventional path is now central to the message he hopes to pass on to the next generation of British athletes.
“I started playing when I was 13 and before that I was a footballer, which I had played pretty much since I could walk, but as soon as I picked up a basketball I was obsessed and threw everything I had at it.
“I always say that any kids who played football growing up are going to transition into being good basketball players much more easily, because the footwork translates so well and the spatial awareness, change of pace, things like that, so I found moving over to basketball quite easy and that probably helped me fall in love with it even more.
“For as long as I can remember, my dream was to be a professional athlete, and initially I thought that was in football but as soon as I picked up a basketball that switched to this sport. I didn’t know how I was going to do it but I gave it everything and pushed as hard as I could to make it happen, so to be sat here today is a blessing for sure.”
Having transitioned from Barking Abbey to Canadian collegiate basketball, Boardman-Raffet’s rise has been built on self-belief, consistency, and an understanding of what it takes to chase a dream — even when the destination is uncertain.
“I always had self-belief and I always thought why not me? Why can’t I be the person that does it? Spending some time when I was at Barking Abbey with the alumni there who would come back for summer workouts after their seasons in the professional game gave me a lot of confidence and made me realise it was possible for people to succeed on the pathway I was on.
“I made it a focus to not get too high or too low and just control what I could control, working as hard as possible, knowing that I could live with not ‘making it’ if I wasn’t good enough, but I couldn’t live with not putting the effort in.
“Before this season, I hadn’t played a competitive game at home since 2021, so that was definitely something I missed when I went away to Canada for college, not having my family there for every game, missing having my friends there to support, so it means the world to me back in my country and to be able to perform in front of the people who mean the most to me.”
Now back on British soil and signed with one of the most storied organisations in the country, Boardman-Raffet is driven not only by personal ambition, but by the desire to uplift young players watching from the stands and from afar.
“Above anything else, I want to be someone young British players and fans can look up to. I want to try and be relatable and I want to inspire the next generation to think like I did – why can’t it be them who is on this court in future?
“I know for myself and for other British guys on this team and in this league, we all want to show the next generation how hard we’ve worked to get here and how much it means to us to be in this position and be able to play for such great clubs in our home country.
“After I finished in Canada over the summer, there was a period of unknown but coming home to play was definitely on my mind and then when I heard Leicester were interested in me, I was over the moon because of the history of the club, how excellent the coaching staff are and everything they’ve accomplished over the years.”
With his rookie season ahead of him, Boardman-Raffet is embracing the challenge of contributing to Leicester’s ambitions while helping represent the strength of British talent across the league.
“My goal is to help this team win a championship. It’s about the team above everything else. Individually, I just want to make a positive impact in any way I can and improve every day from now until the end of the season. If I get to the end of the season knowing I couldn’t have done anymore for this team then I’ll be very happy, and hopefully have some silverware to show for it.
“I’m very excited to be here alongside Tomiwa, another exciting young British talent, and to see so many young British guys all over the league contributing to their teams’ success. In terms of growing the game, connecting with the fans and all that, it’s so important our league has a strong British identity.
“We all take the responsibility of representing the UK very seriously, together we can put our game on the map and we’re excited for the challenge of doing that as this league continues to grow.”