A changing culture
Over the last decade, Canadian basketball has experienced a monumental shift. The NBA is no longer subject to two minutes of morning highlights on Canadian television sets. As you walk down the street Raptors clothing is now as popular as Blue Jays or Maple Leaf’s gear. Basketball courts are no longer vacant, in fact, it’s often hard to find an open court because they are flooded with eager participants both young and old. These are just a few examples of the changes occurring, but the stats tell an even bigger story.
According to CBC News, the Raptors estimated team value has more than quadrupled over the last 10 years and the Raptors are now the 14th most valuable franchise in the league. In the same report, it is noted that the viewership of NBA games in Canada has increased on average by 54 percent between 2013 and 2016. In addition, the newcomers to Canada report shows that the NBA was ranked No. 1 for social/digital following. Forbes highlights Canada’s rising basketball influence noting that the NBA is now home to 16 Canadian players, the most for any country outside the U.S.
Many of these players are young and exciting prospects with bright futures. Jamal Murray is a fringe all-star and a major contributor to the Denver Nuggets. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Thunder’s leading scorer and his ceiling looks near limitless. The most recent crop of NBA rookies includes even more exciting young Canadian players such as RJ Barrett and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
This trend of Canadian prospects shows no signs of slowing down either. North Pole Hoops’ Hasan has highlighted that there are now 150 Canadian players participating in Division 1 NCAA basketball.
Before the NBA Finals, The Toronto Star reported that young Canadians would rather watch the Raptors in the Finals than watch the Stanley Cup. As a lifelong Canadian and a lifelong basketball fan, seeing these stats and headlines such as the aforementioned seems surreal.
So, as the confetti fell from the rafters of Oracle Arena the world was once again in shock. As the Toronto Raptors were crowned NBA champions, I went to sleep serenaded by the sounds of car horns honking all night long. Bubbling under the surface of Raptors’ success a cultural metamorphosis had occurred, and it had reached its glorious peak. Although the Raptors lost another star player to our southern neighbor, Canadian fans have a lot to look forward to in the years to come.
The Raps won a title in a unique sort of Raptor way – they went all-in on a star player and lived with the results. The great Canadian experiment that the NBA pursued in 1995 resulted in a changed cultural landscape. The 2019 NBA champion Toronto Raptors have capped off a decade of cultural change and all signs suggest that Canada’s basketball fever is here to stay.