Canada seems to be experiencing a kind of cultural shift.
With no Canadian teams to cheer for in the Stanley Cup Final, and the Toronto Raptors making an impressive push for their first-ever NBA championship title, our collective national attention has shifted from the ice to the hardwood.
But experts say this adjustment in sports loyalty isn鈥檛 just thanks to the Raptors impressive performance this season. Some of it comes down to our country鈥檚 changing demographics.
For example, the most recent census reported visible minority groups represent more than 20 per cent of the population. In Toronto, that statistic is even higher, with 51.5 per cent of residents identifying as visible minorities.
Vinu Selvaratnam, a sports researcher at the University of Waterloo, says that not only is basketball a more global game than hockey鈥攁nd therefore more familiar to new Canadians鈥攖he diversity of the Raptors roster itself is inspiring new Canadians to jump on the bandwagon.
鈥淲e are known as a nation that comes together for teams that win鈥攆or teams that we can actually resonate with鈥攁nd the Toronto Raptors are exactly that team,鈥� Selvaratnam told 麻豆影视 Channel.
鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful. It鈥檚 definitely unifying.鈥�
Canada鈥攕pecifically the Greater Toronto Area鈥攈as also become a hotbed for NBA talent. Eighteen Canadians cracked an NBA lineup to start the season this year, the most of any country other than the United States.
Canadians such as Andrew Wiggins with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jamal Murray with the Denver Nuggets are emerging stars in the league, not to mention R.J. Barrett, who is a projected top-five pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
The rising interest and star power could also be attributed to the affordability of the sport when compared to hockey, which requires expensive equipment and ice time.
鈥淲e have to consider the cost of both sports and there is a lot of evidence that shows hockey is highly more expensive than basketball,鈥� Selvaratnam explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 for this reason why many new Canadians like to play basketball鈥攂ecause it鈥檚 more affordable.鈥�
Selvaratnam agrees that hockey will always be a defining part of Canada鈥檚 national identity, and the butt of many jokes about Canadians. Yet we tend to forget that basketball too was invented by a Canadian, James Naismith.
Naismith was inducted to Canada鈥檚 Sports Hall of Fame posthumously, and became the first member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.
Plus, there鈥檚 no denying that the Raptors鈥� performance has outweighed that of our Canadian hockey teams. The Raps have reached the NBA playoffs in each of the past six seasons, something not a single Canadian NHL franchise has accomplished.
鈥淐anada, from a sport perspective, can be much more than just hockey,鈥� Ryan Snelgrove, a sports business professor at the University of Waterloo.
鈥淚 think (basketball has) brought in a lot of people that either hockey didn鈥檛 resonate for or want another avenue in addition to hockey to connect to our country and display our national pride.鈥�
- With files from Ben Cousins
