Our Story

From the crowded PU courts of Kaohsiung, Taiwan to the tarmac streetball battlegrounds of Toronto, Canada, two brothers by the names of Mike and John grew up loving the sport of basketball (and many other sports).

Basketball became a language for immigrant kids who wanted to connect with new friends. The sport became a teacher of many important life lessons for us.

Now all grown up, we still love to talk ball, be a part of the basketball conversation, and this is the way we've decided to approach it. We hope you'll enjoy the content, whether it be an NBA article, the basketball comic, or fun sports-related apparel designs.

Why the name "Bears of Valor?"  Well, first of all, bears are cool. There is a bear species from Taiwan called the Formosan black bear, and they're these black bears with a "V" shape of white fur on their chest. So yeah, that's why we went with "Valor." It's a nice word and we all need a little courage to face the ever-changing world.

 

A little about Mike

NBA2K Position: SF/PF (I was the stretch big)

Favorite Player: Jeremy Lin (underdog story, Linsanity in NY, classy, role model)

Favorite Team: The '96 Bulls (The Unstoppabulls)

Mount Rushmore: Jordan, Kareem, Kobe, Duncan

Go-to move: The Carmelo jab step + step back mid range.

Dream Starting 5: Shaq, Duncan, KD, Jordan, Curry (LeBron off the bench XD)

Best Jersey of all time: The original Raptors jersey with the red raptor.

 

 A Little about John

NBA2K Position: SG (Lengthy Athletic Two-Way Guard)

Favorite Player: Kobe Bryant (Mamba Mentality, relentless, unbelievable work ethic)

Favorite Team: The 96 Bulls

Mount Rushmore: Jordan, Wilt, Magic, Kobe

Go-to move: T-Mac pull up jumper 

Dream Starting 5: Shaq, Lebron, Durant, Jordan, Kobe  

Best Jersey of all time: The T-Mac and VC era (Raptor Jersey)