When Rockefeller Plaza lights up, it’s usually for Christmas. But this October, it glowed red, black, and gold for basketball. From October 16 to 21, 2025, NBC Sports and the NBA transformed the iconic Manhattan landmark into a weeklong fan playground for 30 Rocks—a six-day celebration marking the league’s return to NBC and its debut on Peacock. Beneath the towering flags and cameras of the TODAY Show, fans lined up for open-run games, youth clinics, trivia, dunk contests, and appearances by Michael Bublé, Maria Taylor, NBA legends John Starks and Joakim Noah, and a roster of NBCUniversal personalities.
At the heart of the spectacle was a dazzling display: 30 custom-designed basketballs—“rocks”—each created by a different artist to represent an NBA team and its city. Among them, one stood apart. Painted in deep reds and steely greys, bold yet disciplined, it represented not only the Toronto Raptors, but all of Canada. The artist behind it: Paul Glyn-Williams, better known as SumArtist.
“It was an incredible honour to represent the Raptors—and Canada—in this way,” he said. “As both an artist and a lifelong fan, any opportunity to create alongside the team is something I truly value.”
Paul Glyn-Williams, better known at SumArtist
Turning ‘We The North’ into art
The 30 Rocks activation challenged each artist to distill their team’s identity into a single object. For Glyn-Williams, that meant translating the Raptors’ We The North ethos into visual form.
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“When approaching this piece, I thought about what a pack of raptors represents,” he explained. “Raptors are apex predators, but their true strength comes from their unit—each member playing their role to succeed. That idea became the foundation for the creative direction.”
Paul Glyn-Williams, @SumArtist
Working closely with the Raptors’ design team, he cycled through sketches, digital mock-ups, and colour tests to align the ball with the franchise’s new-season platform. The final result carried his signature tension between monochrome realism and saturated colour—a visual language he’s refined since his early days drawing in pencil.
“The greyscale came from my background in pencil sketching,” he said. “As my work matured, I realized that by contrasting it with vivid colour, I could draw the eye to what I wanted people to feel.”
Paul Glyn-Williams, @SumArtist
Unveiled beneath the lights of 30 Rock, the finished piece embodied the Raptors’ resilience, teamwork, and national identity. For fans who stopped to photograph it, it wasn’t just a design—it was recognition.
From chef to creator
Before the murals, NBA projects, and international recognition, Glyn-Williams spent twelve years working as a chef. He would finish late shifts, return home exhausted, and still find the energy to paint—building a portfolio one night at a time.
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“There comes a point after twelve years that you wonder if you’ll ever get busy enough to sustain your passions full-time,” he recalled. “You double down so many times you don’t have a plan B—only a plan A.”
Paul Glyn-Williams
That relentless focus now defines his career. Today, SumArtist is known for a style that merges realism and emotion, juxtaposing restrained cityscapes with bursts of saturated energy. His art feels cinematic yet grounded, echoing the duality of sport itself.
“Struggles are a part of every artist’s journey,” he said. “They’re not setbacks; they’re tools. I’m grateful for them—they’ve made me who I am today.”
Paul Glyn-Williams
Building a visual legacy
For Toronto sports fans, his work is already part of the city’s landscape. His 60-foot José Bautista “Bat Flip” mural immortalized one of the most electric moments in Blue Jays history, turning a single swing into a symbol of civic pride. The piece went viral, drawing fans from across the country and cementing his reputation as one of Canada’s defining sports artists.
Then came the 50-foot Vince Carter Hall of Fame mural in 2024, a collaboration celebrating Carter’s induction and legacy. That project caught the NBA’s attention and led to his invitation to participate in 30 Rocks.
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“When we win, we celebrate together. When we lose, we feel that together too,” he said. “Capturing those moments through art is about preserving the times when we’re united by a shared experience.”
Paul Glyn-Williams
His portfolio has since expanded worldwide—from Montreal to Japan, Argentina, Portugal, and the Dominican Republic—and his work is held in private collections, including that of NBA champion Matt Barnes. Still, for Glyn-Williams, Toronto remains both muse and home.
“No matter where I am in the world, Toronto will always be homebase,” he said. “It’s the city that shaped me—its diversity, its energy, its grit.”
Paul Glyn-Williams
The 30 Rocks moment
Standing in Rockefeller Plaza earlier this month, Glyn-Williams watched fans circle the art installation while NBC cameras swept across the scene. For six days, the plaza pulsed with energy—kids lining up for 3-point contests, crowds singing along to Roundball Rock, and thirty gleaming basketballs illuminated against the Manhattan skyline.
“It was surreal,” he said. “To see my work displayed there—and to know I was representing Canada—that’s something I’ll never forget.”
Paul Glyn-Williams
When the activation wrapped on October 21, each “rock” was shipped back to its home city. The Raptors’ piece returned to Toronto, a fitting homecoming for an artist whose work continues to shape how Canadians see themselves in sport.
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Art beyond borders
The 30 Rocks showcase proved that fandom can be as creative as it is competitive. Each artist told their team’s story through texture, tone, and imagination, showing that the emotional pulse of sport can live just as vividly in a piece of art as it does on the court.
For SumArtist, it was also a reminder that Canadian creativity belongs on the global stage.
“Art deepens our connection to sports,” he said. “It makes those moments tangible. People see a mural or a design and remember not just the win, but how it felt to be part of it.”
Paul Glyn-Williams
For one week in New York, that feeling took centre stage—and We The North was painted proudly for the world to see.
