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鈥淥ne more rep,” he keeps demanding.

Everyone in the gym is tired, but no one is surprised. The only Canadian expected to hear his name called in the first round of the NBA draft on June 25 has always been addicted to the gym.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing else I鈥檇 rather do,鈥� Riley tells the Star.聽鈥淚 just genuinely just love playing basketball. Ever since a young age, I feel like ever since I picked up a ball, I just can鈥檛 get out of the gym. That鈥檚 something I do for fun, if I鈥檓 feeling sad or happy, I just go to the gym.”

These days, the 19-year-old has even more reason to lean into his addiction. ESPN has the Canadian pencilled in as the 22nd pick in the聽, though the Star has learned that some teams drafting in the lottery range have considered Riley.聽His scoring instincts and ability to create his own shot聽 have caught the attention of NBA executives and scouts.

At the draft combine in Chicago earlier this month, Riley met聽and interviewed with聽12 teams. He will become the second player from Kitchener to be drafted since Jamal Murray went seventh to the Denver Nuggets in 2016.聽

鈥淛amal Murray was probably the first Canadian guy that kind of inspired me,鈥� says Riley, who at age 10 was coached by Murray’s father, Roger. 鈥淓specially from my hometown, not a lot of guys from Kitchener make it in sports, really.鈥�

Riley grew up in a sports family: his father Ray Riley is a track and field coach, and mother Tracy Hooks-Riley came from a hockey- and basketball-loving family with her father being a physical education teacher.

Hooks-Riley聽wanted her son to play hockey, but his love for basketball was impossible to shake. He quit soccer and high jump, despite breaking some Ontario records, to focus on his favourite sport.

During the聽Raptors’ championship run in 2019, Riley and his mother attended games to get a glimpse of Kawhi Leonard.聽

鈥淚 just remember paying a lot of money for really good seats for him and I,鈥澛燞ooks-Riley says. 鈥淚 look back on it now, it was totally worth it.鈥�

When Dwayne Washington, the founder of the basketball program UPlay Canada, first met Riley, he was in the sixth grade. Washington鈥檚 program has helped produce over a dozen Canadian NBA stars, including this season’s MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Andrew Nembhard 补苍诲听Shaedon Sharpe.

Washington doesn鈥檛 like comparing Riley to other players, but will admit he saw something different in him in the eighth grade. Riley was playing one year up at a tournament in聽Augusta, Ga. and was excited, but barely saw the court. Coaches didn鈥檛 think he was ready, and that hurt him deeply.

鈥淗e really believed he could play with the top dogs,鈥� Washington says. 鈥淎fter talking with his mom, he put so much work in, and I鈥檓 like: This guy is different. He has expectations for himself.”

When Riley quickly sprouted to six-foot-six and developed a knack for scoring in unique ways, Washington got on the phone and started letting NBA personnel know that he had another kid destined for the league.

In his junior聽year of high school, Riley moved to the Phelps School, a boys program in Pennsylvania, to play against top talent. Playing basketball in the U.S. is where he really started to leave an impression. There was one particular performance that聽hasn’t been forgotten.

At the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League in Arizona a few weeks ago, Washington was telling the Star about Riley鈥檚 basketball journey when he heard a recognizable voice approaching. It was Wayne Pratt, the father of NBA superstar Kevin Durant, who had overheard Riley’s name. His eyes were wide, as if he’d seen a ghost.

Pratt witnessed Riley鈥檚 scoring prowess in Indiana last summer when he torched his AAU club 鈥� Team Durant 鈥� for 42 points with a dozen college coaches courtside. Riley set a record for points scored by a Canadian in Nike EYBL history in that game, after missing just one shot in 16 attempts and leading his team to a 40-point blowout.

鈥淲e had a hand in his face and it didn鈥檛 matter,鈥� Pratt laughs. 鈥淜evin (Durant) loves him.鈥�

A day after that performance, Riley was in a restaurant when a large man walked up to him. It was Tony Durant, the NBA superstar’s older brother, who told Riley that he reminded him a lot of Kevin.

鈥淚t was a cool moment for me,鈥� Riley says, “Kevin Durant being one of my role models, and his family recognizing my talents.鈥�

With his game reaching new heights, Riley skipped his final year of high school and committed to the University of Illinois. He started off last November by setting a school freshman record with 31 points in his debut. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood compared Riley鈥檚 game to Michael Beasley, the second pick in the 2008 NBA draft.

But just when the buzz was starting to get serious, Riley fell into a month-long shooting slump and looked like a shell of himself. His聽minutes started to decline and some questioned if he could handle the physicality of college basketball at just 170 pounds when he started in the NCAA.

鈥淚 think it was tougher on him than he let most people know,鈥澛燞ooks-Riley says.聽

And when things got tough, Riley spent even more time in his sanctuary.聽With his phone off and headphones on, he was alone most nights, sometimes until 5 a.m., only satisfied after taking over 2,000 shots.

“If there鈥檚 a gym, Will鈥檚 going to find it,” Washington says. “Two in the morning, three in the morning, he鈥檚 going to get there, he鈥檚 going to be in a full sweat till 4 a.m.鈥�

Francis Kiapway, a former college basketball player turned skills development trainer who has worked with other NBA talents, says he’s never seen a player as competitive as Riley. In college, there were times Kiapway begged and pleaded with him to not be in the gym all the time, but he refused.聽

鈥淪ince you鈥檙e not here, the only way I鈥檓 not going to be on the court is if my leg falls off,鈥� Kiapway recalls Riley saying. 鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥楢ll right, don鈥檛 be surprised if I send someone over there to cut that s—- off.鈥欌��

It wasn’t only the gym where Riley was working on turning his season around. He spent countless hours on the phone with Kiapway and Washington, going through film before and after games. He was in the weight room, and by the time his season ended he had put on 25 pounds.

By late January, he finally turned the script. Riley scored in double digits in 13 of his final 15 NCAA games and earned the Big Ten sixth man of the year award. He anchored Illinois to its fifth straight March Madness appearance and finished the season averaging 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

The next step聽was obvious: declaring for the聽2025 NBA draft.

Now in the pre-draft process, Riley will work out for several teams over the next few weeks before joining the growing list of Canadian talent in the NBA 鈥� a moment he’s been waiting for all his life.

鈥淚t鈥檚 what I dreamed of since I was a kid. Going through this process now, it hasn鈥檛 really hit me yet,鈥� says Riley.

Whichever NBA gym he ends up in won’t know what hit it, either.