Canadian streetball star Matt Kiatipis draws large crowd again - this time in Lorong Lew Lian

Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis (right) at a basketball court at 6 Lorong Lew Lian on Oct 7.

ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI

Published Oct 07, 2026, 09:58 PM

Updated Oct 07, 2026, 10:14 PM

- Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis drew at least 400 people to Lorong Lew Lian court in Singapore for a one-on-one challenge.

- Fans chanted “MK, MK, MK!” as he picked players from the crowd, used trash talk, and played before police arrived to keep order.

- Kiatipis said he wants to make one-on-one basketball a sport of its own and plans two more events after Singapore, his second South-east Asia stop.

SINGAPORE – Tucked amid HDB blocks and private housing in Upper Serangoon, the Lorong Lew Lian basketball court is a quintessential neighbourhood facility, where residents shoot hoops and youths gather after school for a game or two.

But on Oct 7, the place was filled like never before, with a crowd of at least 400 drawn by Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis, better known as MK, who brought his one-on-one challenge to the heart of the neighbourhood.

When The Straits Times arrived at 5.30pm, the area was already filled with at least 150 people, mostly youths. Many were in their school PE shirts and uniforms, looking to secure the best seats while others took their places at the corridors of an adjacent HDB block overlooking the court.

The crowd continued to swell and the enthusiastic fans started chanting of “MK, MK, MK!” at around 6.40pm when Kiatipis – clad in a white San Antonio Spurs basketball kit bearing the name of French superstar Victor Wembanyama – arrived in a black van.

The 26-year-old online celebrity proceeded to pick several players from the crowd for the one-on-one challenge, showcasing his brash persona, relentless trash talk, taunts and physical play, much to the delight of the spectators.

The event ended 1½ hours later, with the police arriving by about 7.30pm to keep the situation under control.

A day earlier, Kiatipis had wanted to stage his first one-on-one challenge at Chinatown Complex rooftop court but the sheer size of the crowd which encroached into the court forced him to call off the event. The police were also there.

Police arrive at the basketball court at 6 Lorong Lew Lian where Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis is playing on Oct 7. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI

Police arrive at the basketball court at 6 Lorong Lew Lian where Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis is playing on Oct 7.

The popularity of Kiatipis caught many Lorong Lew Lian residents unaware, with many peering out of their windows while some came courtside to ask the teenagers who the Canadian was, and what the event was about.

Kiatipis – who also donned a pink Singapore national football team goalkeeper jersey during the games – later said in an Instagram post: “This is getting so crazy. I can’t believe it. Singapore…you filled up the entire court. You filled up the bleachers, people were watching from the (balconies) and we only announced the 1v1 six hours before.

“I loved playing in front of y’all so much. Now I’m gonna do two more 1v1 events.”

On Oct 7, just past 1pm, Kiatipis had taken to his Instagram account – where he has 3.5 million followers – to reveal a 7pm meet-up time and the location.

Nihal Hamid 20, a student at the PSB academy was one of the lucky few who took on Kiatipis in the challenge, with at least 50 people crowded around them playing the roles of “hype men”.

Nihal said: “It was a very good experience. I have been watching his content for awhile now so when he was coming here, I knew I had to show up. It was nice to see the local basketball community showing up the way they did.

Crowd at 6 Lorong Lew Lian where Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis is playing on Oct 7. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI

Crowd at 6 Lorong Lew Lian where Canadian basketball influencer Matt Kiatipis is playing on Oct 7.

“I managed to get to the front and just kept saying ‘play me, play me’ and I managed to do it. There was a lot of trash talk involved… I was doing it back. It’s all for the love of the game.

“I have played in front of crowds but not something this massive. But I expected this to happen, it is no surprise given his following.”

Another student, Austyn Campbell, 16, an American from Stamford American International School, called it an unforgettable evening, after he too got to compete against Kiatipis.

Austyn said: “There were so many people and I did not expect that. Getting to share that experience with MK today was so cool and something very memorable for me. I had actually turned up in Chinatown yesterday and there were a lot of people but not this many.”

Kiatipis, who is from Newmarket, Ontario, has built a mass following across Instagram and TikTok with videos of his taking on challengers in one-on-one games at outdoor courts around the world.

He played college basketball at Canada’s Simon Fraser University before transferring to a school in the United States, where the Covid-19 pandemic cut short his season.

He then had a professional stint in Costa Rica before turning to content creation.

Kiatipis told ST on Oct 6 that it is his mission to establish one-on-one basketball as a sport in its own right, separate from the traditional five-a-side and 3x3 formats.

“I didn’t know what to expect. So to be here now, coming from Covid, that journey all in between is just a dream come true,” said Kiatipis on his rise.

“I’m bringing the community together, playing a new sport (which is) one-on-one. Before, it was like five-on-five in the street, and then I condensed it down to one-on-one, where more people could play.

“We started from the streets up into the craziest things you could possibly think of. We could be on the Chinatown rooftop in Singapore, and we’ll be in a stadium the next day, and then we’ll be in the favelas.

“ There’s just so much diversity that we bring into this one sport, and we are the leaders of one-on-one basketball. In the future, I’ll want to expand one-on-one to different sports, absolutely, because we are collabing through basketball with so many different sports.”

Singapore is the second stop of his South-east Asia tour.

He was in Jakarta from Oct 1 to 3, when he held a coaching clinic and took on local players at the King of Ballers streetball event.

Sports and recreation

10 月 7 日，加拿大篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis（右）在 6 Lorong Lew Lian 的篮球场。

ST 摄影：AZMI ATHNI

发布于 2026 年 10 月 7 日晚上 9:58

更新于2026年10月7日晚上10:14

- 加拿大篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯 (Matt Kiatipis) 在新加坡罗弄刘莲球场 (Lorong Lew Lian court) 进行了一场一对一挑战赛，吸引了至少 400 人参加。

- 当他从人群中挑选球员、使用垃圾话并上场比赛时，球迷们高喊着“MK，MK，MK！”，直到警察赶来维持秩序。

- Kiatipis 表示，他希望将一对一篮球发展成为一项独立的运动，并计划在新加坡（他的第二站东南亚）之后再举办两场赛事。

新加坡——位于上实龙岗的罗弄刘莲篮球场，坐落在组屋和私人住宅之间，是一个典型的社区设施，居民们在这里投篮，年轻人放学后也聚集在这里打一两场比赛。

但 10 月 7 日，这里人山人海，至少有 400 人聚集于此，他们是被加拿大篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis（更广为人知的名字是 MK）吸引而来，他将自己的一对一挑战带到了社区中心。

《海峡时报》记者下午5点30分到达时，现场已经聚集了至少150人，其中大部分是年轻人。许多人穿着学校的体育课T恤和校服，试图抢占最佳座位，而其他人则在隔壁组屋的走廊里找了个位置，可以俯瞰球场。

人群持续聚集，热情的球迷们开始高喊“MK，MK，MK！”。下午 6 点 40 分左右，基亚蒂皮斯身穿印有法国超级巨星维克托·温巴尼亚马名字的白色圣安东尼奥马刺队篮球服，乘坐一辆黑色面包车抵达现场。

这位 26 岁的网络名人随后从人群中挑选了几名玩家进行一对一挑战，展现了他张扬的个性、无情的垃圾话、嘲讽和激烈的身体对抗，令观众们大为高兴。

事件在1个半小时后结束，警方于晚上7点30分左右到达现场控制局势。

前一天，基亚蒂皮斯原本想在唐人街大厦的屋顶球场举办他的首场一对一挑战赛，但由于人群涌入球场，他不得不取消了比赛。警察也赶到了现场。

10月7日，加拿大篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯（Matt Kiatipis）在位于刘莲巷6号的篮球场打球时，警方抵达现场。（海峡时报照片：阿兹米·阿特尼）

10 月 7 日，加拿大篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis 在位于 6 Lorong Lew Lian 的篮球场打球时，警察赶到了现场。

Kiatipis 的受欢迎程度让 Lorong Lew Lian 的许多居民措手不及，许多人从窗户向外张望，还有一些人来到场边询问青少年这位加拿大人是谁，以及这场比赛是关于什么的。

基亚蒂皮斯（Kiatipis）——他在比赛期间还穿上了一件粉色的新加坡国家足球队守门员球衣——后来在Instagram上发帖说：“这太疯狂了。我简直不敢相信。新加坡……你们把整个球场都坐满了。看台上也坐满了人，还有人在阳台上观看，而我们只提前六个小时宣布了这场1对1比赛。”

“我太喜欢在你们面前比赛了。现在我还要再参加两场1v1比赛。”

10 月 7 日下午 1 点刚过，Kiatipis 在他的 Instagram 账号（拥有 350 万粉丝）上公布了晚上 7 点的见面时间和地点。

20 岁的 Nihal Hamid 是 PSB 学院的一名学生，他是少数几个有幸接受 Kiatipis 挑战的人之一，当时至少有 50 人围在他们周围扮演“气氛营造者”的角色。

尼哈尔说：“这是一次非常棒的经历。我关注他的内容已经有一段时间了，所以当他要来这里的时候，我就知道我一定要到场。很高兴看到当地的篮球界人士如此热情地到场。”

10月7日，加拿大篮球网红马特·基亚蒂皮斯（Matt Kiatipis）在刘莲巷6号（6 Lorong Lew Lian）打球，现场人山人海。（海峡时报照片：阿兹米·阿特尼）

10 月 7 日，加拿大篮球网红 Matt Kiatipis 在 6 Lorong Lew Lian 比赛，现场人山人海。

“我设法挤到前面，不停地说‘上场，上场’，结果真的做到了。期间有很多垃圾话……我也回敬了他们。这一切都是因为热爱这项运动。”

“我以前也曾在观众面前表演过，但从未见过如此盛大的场面。不过，考虑到他的粉丝群体，这也在我的预料之中。”

另一名学生，16 岁的美国学生奥斯汀·坎贝尔（Austyn Campbell），来自斯坦福美国国际学校，在与基亚蒂皮斯（Kiatipis）同场竞技后，称这是一个难忘的夜晚。

奥斯汀说：“人太多了，我完全没想到。今天能和米尔顿凯恩斯的朋友们一起分享这段经历真是太棒了，也让我非常难忘。我昨天其实也去了唐人街，那里人也很多，但没这么多。”

来自安大略省纽马克特的基亚蒂皮斯在 Instagram 和 TikTok 上发布了他在世界各地的户外球场与挑战者进行一对一比赛的视频，从而积累了大量粉丝。

他曾在加拿大西蒙弗雷泽大学打过大学篮球，之后转学到美国的一所大学，但新冠疫情导致他的赛季提前结束。

之后他在哥斯达黎加有过一段职业经历，然后转行从事内容创作。

Kiatipis 于 10 月 6 日告诉 ST，他的使命是将一对一篮球确立为一项独立的运动，使其与传统的五人制和 3 对 3 制篮球分开。

“我不知道会发生什么。所以，从新冠疫情中走出来，经历了这一切，如今能站在这里，简直就像梦想成真一样，”基亚蒂皮斯在谈到自己的崛起时说道。

“我正在把社区凝聚在一起，开展一项新的运动——一对一。以前，街头是五对五的比赛，后来我把它简化成一对一，这样更多的人就可以参与其中了。”

“我们从街头起步，去做你能想象到的最疯狂的事情。我们可能今天还在新加坡唐人街的屋顶上，明天就出现在体育场里，然后明天又会回到贫民窟。”

“我们为这项运动带来了如此丰富的多样性，而且我们是单挑篮球的领军者。未来，我肯定会将单挑篮球拓展到其他运动项目中，因为我们正通过篮球与其他许多运动项目进行合作。”

新加坡是他东南亚之旅的第二站。

10月1日至3日，他在雅加达举办了教练培训班，并在“篮球之王”街头篮球赛事中与当地球员进行了比赛。

体育和休闲