Even if he is a polarizing figure for most Toronto Raptors fans, Vince Carter's impact on baloncesto in Canada is undeniable.
A generation of aspiring baseball players across the country grew up idolizing the Raptors' first superstar, so his number may live forever in the rafters of the Scotiabank Area.
It will be a special evening for many Canadian baloncesto fans, an evening that Denver Star Nuggets and Kitchener, Ontario itself. Jamal Murray wishes he could attend.
“He took it to another level and showed me what the game could be,” Murray said. reporters after the Nuggets' overtime victory over the Raptors on Monday. “I wish I was there for the ceremony. I know it's going to be great. It is well deserved.
“He has really inspired a lot of little kids and he has inspired me to inspire others. “It just comes full circle.”
Murray is one of the leaders in this new period of Canadian baloncesto, which can be seen as the greatest, along with players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett and Andrew Wiggins in the men's category and Bridget Carleton, Kayla Alexander and Natalie Achonwa in the male category. the women.
Canadians are also well represented in the NBA, with 22 of them in the best baloncesto league in the world. This is the eleventh season in which Canada is the most represented country in the NBA outside the United States.
Although the Larry O'Brien Trophy was last north of the border in 2019, and Canada has not medaled at the Olympics since its première in 1936, the future remains bright for Canadian baloncesto, led by a generation inspired by Carter. .
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