With the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals, some young basketball players say they have never felt more excited about the sport then they are now as they're watching a Canadian team making sports history.
Basketball coaches in Calgary say for children between 12 and 17 years old, participation in the sport has even surpassed hockey.
"It doesn't take much to play basketball," explained Ryan Mitchell, basketball coach and teacher at Rundle College."It takes a ball and a pair of shoes."
The school is packed with kids playing basketball every lunch hour and Mitchell says many students are inspired to take their game to the top. "The sky is the limit for these guys at this age. A lot of the kids in the gym right now are in junior high and they have big dreams and hopes and wishes and they're influenced by a lot of great role models."
Canada provides the second most athletes to the NBA and a total of 13 Canadians were on NBA rosters during the 2018-2019 season.
Some players at Rundle College say seeing the Raptors achieve this level of success gives them something to shoot for. "Basketball in Canada is growing as well so Raptors are just helping that cause by making it to the finals,” said Mark Saloni, a point guard in the school’s Grade 8 team.
Kaitlyn Lowe, a Grade 9 student, wants to take her love for the game all the way to the WNBA.
"For me it makes me feel a lot more connected to basketball like, there's somebody out there representing our country,” said Lowe. “I think it would be a lot cooler to have a lot more Canadian teams though."
She says cheering on Canada's NBA team helps her feel closer to that goal.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for Wednesday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Raptors and Warriors will tip-off on TSN beginning at 7:00 p.m. MT
