Born To Jamaican Father And Canadian Mother, Dalano Banton Is Proud Of His Background
Dalano Banton was born into a biracial family to a Jamaican father, Damian Banton, and a Canadian mother, Suzzane English. Nevertheless, he is proud of his background.
Banton was born on November 7, 1999. He grew up in the Rexdale neighborhood of Toronto, one of the deprived communities in the Toronto outskirt. His parents’ background was not well-to-do, as he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. So much so that his parents could not enroll him in the gym to practice basketball.
Nevertheless, he used to play and practice his game of passion- the basketball in rundown rims, circumscribed by a rust-covered, chained fence. Instead of being overprotective, his parents used to support him.
He and his neighboring friends learned, practiced, and honed the game on an abandoned outdoor basketball court. They used to be there every single day. Dalano remembers that his first interest was to keep his time busy playing basketball. Places and locations did not trigger him off. Their regular place for basketball retreat was called “the Cage” by his group.
Damian Banton And Suzzane English Are The Parents Of Dalano Banton
Dalano Banton was born to parents, Damian Banton and Suzzane English on November 7,1999. Dalano celebrated his twenty-third birthday in 2022.
His parental ancestry is distinguishable. His father, Damian, was originally from Jamaica, while Canada is his mother country. Damian was an immigrant to Canada, while Suzzane was a Caucasian born and raised in her home country. His upbringing has flavors of the Caribbean heritage intermixed with Canadian tradition.
His paternal grandma looked after Dalano from an early age. Her house was just across “the Cage,” the top basketball place for him and his friends. “The Cage” was near Kipling Avenue and Mount Olive Drive in the Rexdale neighborhood.
His determination and passion landed him in the prestigious NBA. During the 2021 NBA Draft, Banton was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 46th overall pick, making him the franchise’s first-ever Canadian player to be handpicked in that draft.
To pay tribute to his roots, Banton chose the number 45 to represent his Raptors jersey in honor of the 45 Kipling TTC bus. The bus runs through his neighborhood and crosses Cambie Street. The number forty-five drew his attention because it held meaning when he noticed that he was tired of wearing random numbers.
Dalano Banton Is Proud Of His Background And His Upbringing In Rexdale
Dalano Banton comes from a middle-class background but remembers his childhood fondly. His grandmother raised him.
He frequented North Kipling Community Centre and Rexdale Community Hub to play basketball. “The Cage” outside his paternal grandmother’s house was his top spot to enjoy basketball. He and his friends used to gather and play the game every single day.
Only when Banton was 16 years old did his basketball skills attract people’s attention. Around the same period, Yoosrei Salhia met Banton and coached him when attending Central Toronto Academy (formerly Central Commerce) to help him reach his full potential.
It is not just that he was passionate about the sport. But he also saw a way of staying off the streets, realizing from a very young age that he would rather not be associated.
The grime-looking street scene of drugs and violence could quickly derail his ambition to play in the NBA’s top-notch game. Banton was in touch with many guys who were massively skilled in basketball during the MacDuffie School in Granby. But they never even made it out of high school.
He later transferred to Redemption Christian Academy in Northfield, followed by Western Kentucky. During his time at Western Kentucky in 2018-19, Banton appeared in 31 games, averaging 3.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per outing. In the 2019-20 season, Banton did not play as he transferred from Western Kentucky and spent the season working on a scout team to enhance his skills.
In his sophomore year, Banton stepped into the lead guard role in his first season in Nebraska. During his time as a Husker, the 6-foot-9 guard played in 26 games, including 22 starts, averaging 9.6 points per game while also leading the team in rebounding and assists every game.
As the first Canadian to be drafted by his hometown team in the NFL, Banton created history in October 2021.
Is Dalano Banton A Filipino?
Dalano Banton is not a Filipino but a mix of Canadian-Jamaican.
However, there is a slight possibility that he is a Filipino as forebears.io has identified and located the surname “Banton” in Canada, the USA, Jamaica, and the Philippines, among many other countries.
Jamaica is his paternal grandparents’ home. Canada is his motherland. A portion of Phillipino-Jamaican heritage is mixed with Canadian cultural wealth during his upbringing.
For example, 2300 incidences of the Banton surname are in Jamaica alone. The number is around 1450 in the Philippines. There are as many as 364 Banton in Canada.
As per ancestry.com, the surname appears for the first time towards the end of the eighth century. The surname has various variant forms ranging from Bunting, Banting, Bunting(e), Bunten, Bunton, Bantin, Buntain, Bontein, and Bontne. However, some of the variant forms are local.
