NBA basketball obviously changes lives for those who step onto the court as players, but as the Toronto Raptors have proven for the past decade, it has the potential to change lives off the court as well. For nearly 10 years, the Raptors have run the Wayne & Theresa Embry Fellowship, a 13-month-long program designed to give fellows hands-on experience in every aspect of an NBA team. This program takes dedicated and passionate people and helps them launch their careers in sport.
The fellowship is open
to Canadians who want firsthand experience in the NBA, and the Raptors commit to making sure one of the two fellows each year is part of a marginalized community. Named after Wayne and Theresa Embry, the fellowship looks for candidates who embody the Embrys’ core values of perseverance, passion, purpose, persistence, perception, performance, preparation and pride.
This year’s fellows, Abby Bruyer and Justina King, are about halfway through their experience in the fellowship. After starting in the summer, Bruyer and King have spent time rotating between the various departments within the Toronto Raptors franchise, while spending dedicated time learning and experiencing the life in roles they have chosen to focus on. For Bruyer, that’s Front Office and Salary Cap Strategy, and for King, it’s Coaching and Player Development.
“The main reason I applied was for the rotational aspect of the program,” Bruyer said in an interview with Raptors HQ. “Not only do we get to spend time in the area that we want to work in, but you get to touch every area of the organization, see how everyone works together. Wanting to work in the front office, I thought that was super valuable,” Bruyer says.
Both fellows have completed rotations with departments like Public Relations, the Raptors 905 in the G-League, and Equipment Management. When they aren’t on a rotation, Bruyer spends her time working with the team’s front office staff, while King sticks with the coaching staff.
“I spend a lot of time in the front office,” Bruyer says of her day-to-day tasks. She has projects she is working on while also completing her rotations. “I think my favourite rotation was actually public relations, since I don’t have any experience in media,” she says, as she came to the fellowship directly after completing law school. “Seeing behind the scenes is really eye-opening,” Bruyer said.
“I’m attending coaching meetings, going to practice, game planning for our next opponent, prepping for practices,” King says of her day-to-day tasks within her area of focus. Before Raptors games, you can usually spot King on the court with players and coaches, helping them warm up and run drills. Her experience as a part-time assistant coach with the Raptors 905 last year opened her eyes to the career that could be ahead of her.
“[When applying] my first thought was ‘why would they pick me?’ but then I changed my mindset to ‘why wouldn’t they pick me?‘” King says of her decision to put her name in for the fellowship a year ago. When it comes to advice for people applying this season, King says to stay true to who you are, put your best foot forward, and remember that no two people have the same experience coming into it or even leaving it.
“As long as you have a passion for basketball, you have commitment to the game, and you want to work in the NBA, just use anything you can to back that up and show what you’ve done so far,” Bruyer says as advice to applicants.
While Bruyer and King still have a lot of time to think about their next steps after the fellowship is over, they are both confident that the experience they are gaining now will only lead to exciting opportunities. Plus, they get the added excitement of feeling like they are genuinely contributing to the success of the Toronto Raptors organization during the year they are fellows.
Another milestone in Bruyer and King’s fellowship journey: they mark the first time in the program’s history that both fellows are women.
“I think that’s one thing that’s super cool about being with the Raptors, how much they take pride in that,” King says of the franchise’s commitment to help women advance their careers in the male-dominated NBA space. “Seeing us as the fellows this year is a testament to the organization’s leadership [in that aspect].”
“You’re seeing that change with more women in sports,” King continues, “and I just want to continue to lead that path for women coming up. The more we get our foot in the door, the more we can help each other. That’s the best thing we can do for each other as women [in the NBA].”
Applications for next year’s fellowship program close on January 18, 2026. Head to the fellowship’s website linked here to read about application requirements and to submit your application before the deadline. You can also head to the program’s Instagram account @raptorsfellow for more information.
