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How many people play basketball in canada
The rise of basketball in Canada: By the numbers
In many respects, basketball has never been bigger in Canada, as Toronto prepares to play host Sunday to the first NBA All-Star Game outside the U.S.
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Though basketball was invented in Canada, the sport has largely remained out of the spotlight in its hockey-mad birthplace.
But with the Toronto Raptors winning and more Canadian players making their mark on the NBA, the popularity of the sport in Canada has increased, with fans united under the "We the North" tagline.
Here are some numbers detailing the rise of basketball in Canada:
Raptors' worth quadruples
The Toronto Raptors are poised to make the playoffs for the third season in a row. The success has translated to increased ticket sales, revenue and franchise valuation. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
The Forbes valuation of Canada's sole NBA franchise has more than quadrupled in 14 years, from $217 million US in 2003 to $980 million in 2016 (all dollar figures in this story are U.S.).
The upward trend featured a notable $400 million jump between 2014 and 2015, fuelled by the Raptors' 2013-14 playoff run and increased ticket sales. This season, Raptors are well on their way to a third straight playoff appearance and also rank fourth in NBA average attendance.
The Raptors' operating revenue has also nearly doubled, from $87 million in 2000-01 to $163 million in 2014-15.
In 2014-15, the Raptors also sold out on season tickets — the first time the franchise has done so since 2000-01, when Vince Carter led the team to the postseason and its only playoff series win.
The Raptors are far from the only NBA franchise to have rocketed in value. An increase in sponsorships and new television deals have nearly doubled the average value of an NBA franchise, from $634 million in 2014 to $1. 25 billion in 2016.
The Raptors rank 14th on the Forbes list for NBA franchise values.
Ratings rise, but still well behind other sports
The Raptors' winning ways have drawn more followers courtside and on television. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)
Viewership of NBA games in Canada has doubled on average across all networks since 2012-13 — an average of 54 per cent per season, The Canadian Press reported.
The Raptors' own TV ratings have also more doubled over five years, from 108,000 in 2010-11 to 246,000 in 2014-15. Ratings have gone down to 217,000 in 2015-16, but end-of-season audiences should drive that number up, according to the Raptors' broadcast department.
But these numbers still do not approach the Vince Carter era, when the team averaged 713,000 viewers on CTV in 2001.
Raptors games still trail well behind other sports in the ratings. During their competing regular seasons, the NFL, CFL and NHL still regularly pull in from two to 10 times as many viewers as the Raptors and the NBA usually can.
A record number of Canadians are playing in the NBA. Many of them, such as Andrew Wiggins, have participated for Canada in Olympic qualifying events. (Eduardo Verdugo/Associated Press)
In the 2014-15 season, Canada set a record with 13 NBA players on starting rosters — the most ever of any non-U.S. country. That number went down to 12 after Steve Nash retired at the end of last season.
The class of Canadians includes Anthony Bennet and Andrew Wiggins, the historic pair of No.1 picks from the 2013 and 2014 NBA drafts, respectively.
The other Canadians currently playing in the NBA are Joel Anthony, Samuel Dalembert, Tyler Ennis, Cory Joseph, Andrew Nicholson, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell, Robert Sacre, Nik Stauskas and Tristan Thompson.
Only 26 Canadians have played in the NBA or its predecessor, the Basketball Association of America, since the league began in 1946.
Basketball embraced by young
Though basketball's TV ratings have increased, participation in the sport has shown more moderate gains. Basketball still trails well behind hockey and soccer among young Canadian players. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
For players aged three to 17, basketball ranks as the third most popular team sport in Canada, behind soccer and hockey, with 354,000 participants, according the 2014 Youth Sports Report. Basketball also leads hockey among immigrant youth, coming in second behind soccer.
Youth participation in basketball has also trended slightly upward. Of sports participants from ages five to 14, basketball went from a 13 per cent participation rate in 1998 to a 16 per cent in 2010, according to a sports participation report published by Canadian Heritage.
For Canadians older than 15, basketball ranked sixth overall in 2010 and was played by seven per cent of sports participants, making it less popular than golf, hockey, soccer, baseball and volleyball.
5. Most played sports in Canada
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5.1 Canadians participated in many sports but were most active
in a few key ones
Adult Canadians 15 years and over are involved in over 100
sports ranging from bobsleigh to ice hockey. Numerically, few of
the sports attract a large number of participants. According to the
GSS, golf engaged the
largest number of adult Canadians in 2005, as it had in 1998.
Almost 1.5 million adult Canadians were golfers in 2005, with
males representing over three quarters (78%) of the participants.
Among the 30 most popular sports in Canada, ice hockey ranked
second behind golf, drawing 1.3 million Canadians. Other popular
sports include swimming, soccer, basketball, baseball and
volleyball. Each of these drew between 500,000 and 800,000
participants.
A key characteristic of these sports is that they are mostly
team sports and involve players, officials and spectators. On
occasion, whole families may be involved, with some members active
as participants, others serving as volunteers, and some coming to
watch. The result is an inherent shared experience among all those
involved, an experience that may spill over to the community at
large, providing a sense of belonging.
Chart 9
Active participation rates in the top ten sports, 1998 and
2005
There are other popular sports that engage relatively few active
participants in Canada but attract many spectators and volunteers.
Sports such as football, gymnastics, and tennis are typical
examples. They each attract between 200,000 and 400,000 active
participants.
One of the emerging sports in Canada is
mountain-boarding.9 In 1998, 81,000 people
reported participating in the sport. By 2005, this number had more
than doubled, reaching 167,000.
In 1998, baseball was in the top three in popularity, with more
than 1.3 million participating nationwide. By 2005, it had dropped
to sixth place, almost switching places with soccer which was in
seventh place in 1998. Soccer ranked fourth overall in 2005.
Among the top ten sports, soccer is the only sport that showed
an increase (one percentage point) in the participation rate
between 1998 and 2005. Participation in other sports decreased over
the period.
Chart 10
Active participation rates in the top ten sports by sex,
2005
5.2 Choice of sport depends on gender
Gender differences exist when it comes to sport. Popular among
women are sports such as swimming, golf, soccer, volleyball, and
downhill skiing. Men are mostly attracted to ice hockey, golf,
basketball, soccer, and baseball. Swimming, which came in first for
women, ranked eight in popularity for men. The most popular sport
for men (ice hockey) had a much higher participation rate (26%)
than did swimming (19%) for women.
Table 6
Most practised sports by Canadians,
20051
Date modified:
Basketball is the sport of the future in Canada. Young people and immigrants prefer it to hockey - sportsiView - Blogs
"Forget everything you think and know about Toronto" - with these words, one of the most famous radio hosts in Toronto, Mokka Frap, left me after our interview. In many ways, he is right. What are your first associations with Canada? Hockey, maple syrup, maybe a high standard of living? But not basketball (at least until the Raptors' historic success in these playoffs). Many of you do not suspect, and those who even knew, have long forgotten that basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith back in 1891 year.
Since then, basketball has become a distinctly American sport. Even Naismith himself came up with the game while working at the Young Men's Christian Association International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. But every year basketball becomes more and more international in every sense.
In many ways, this is the merit of the NBA itself: in recent years, the league has placed a special emphasis on international development. And the result is obvious - in 2016, the growth rate of the NBA was 13 percent. In the past, an astronomical 25 percent. Much of this has been driven by international growth. If momentum picks up, by the end of the next decade, the NBA will equal the NFL in league revenue in a way that once seemed unthinkable .
Using realistic growth rates (6.5%’ and 15% for the NFL and NBA respectively), we see that the NBA will overtake the NFL in revenue by the end of the next decade.
’ According to NFL figures.
Canada plays a leading role in the development of international players, more specifically the Toronto region . Over the past decade, Canada has given the basketball world the likes of Jamal Murray, Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Nick Stauskas. In the 2013 NBA draft, the Cavaliers first drafted a Canadian with the first pick - though it was Anthony Bennett. A year later, the Cavaliers again took the Canadian first - Andrew Wiggins, whom they sent to Minnesota three months later.
Canada has had occasional players like Jamal Magloir or Rick Fox, and of course Steve Nash can't be left out. But for 13 Canadians to play in the NBA at once?! So where do roots grow from?
The changing face of Canadian sport
The history of modern Canadian basketball begins in 1967 under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. It was this liberal premier who introduced the world's first non-racial immigration system. Up to this point, the vast majority of immigrants to Canada were from European countries or countries with a predominantly European population, such as the United States or Australia. The father of the current prime minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, continued Pearson's immigration policy, and by 19In 1986, the percentage of visible ethnic minorities (eng. visible minorities) in Canada rose to 6.3 percent. In 1991 this figure was 9.4 percent, in 2001 it was 13.4 percent, and today it is about 25 percent.
The metamorphosis of basketball in Canada can be largely explained by the demographic changes mentioned above. The vast majority of immigrants come from countries where ice hockey is an unknown sport . Arriving in Canada, parents send their children to play sports familiar to them - first of all, it is football and basketball. Also, the “new Canadians” are scared away by the price tag of the national treasure. The fact is that in Canada, as in Russia, hockey has become a sport for the rich, and even for the indigenous population, and even more so for immigrants, who have every dollar in the account. Meanwhile, football and basketball only require running shoes and a ball. There is also a belief among many immigrants and their children that hockey is not the most welcoming sport for immigrants or minorities.
A combination of factors suggests that basketball is the sport of the future in Canada. After all, basketball fans are younger and belong to a diverse ethnic group . Meanwhile, hockey fans tend to be older and old-fashioned Canadians. And based on demographic studies that show a gradual reduction in the indigenous white population due to low birth rates and a high rate of immigration replacing the indigenous population, we can safely say that the position of basketball in the country will only strengthen.
And the numbers also support this conclusion.
The same poll showed that Canadians so far generally prefer the Stanley Cup, but the difference is not critical: 38% versus 33%.
If demographic change paved the way for the advent of new sports, there are a number of reasons why basketball has become such a staple in the hearts of young New Canadians. One reason is a guy named Vince Carter. For many Canadians of my generation, the most vivid childhood memories are of Vinsanity, which cast a spell on Toronto for a while. If Kawhi told the League that the Raptors were here for the long haul, Carter was the first to announce the existence of Toronto with his performance in the dunk contest. It was thanks to Vince that many Canadian children first picked up a basketball and tried to repeat what their hero performed.
But the star factor cannot be discarded either. Any marketer will tell you that the most sought-after athletes are football and basketball players. This is largely due to the popularity and accessibility of these sports, but the same phenomenon is being seen in America itself. And many attribute this to the fact that American football athletes and hockey players wear "armor" that covers the body and, most importantly, the face. There's a reason why, as schoolboys, we used to roll up a piece of paper, and when we threw it in the trash, we'd stop, yell "Kobe!" and at an acute angle they threw a paper "ball" into the basket.
Toronto Basketball Factory
But today, Canada is not just a large community of fans with a scattering of amateur basketball players. Canada is just as important a player base for the NBA as the American cities that produced legend after legend at one time.
Take, for example, New York City, home of such basketball players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Irving, Chris Mullin and Carmelo Anthony. Even Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn. But today everything has changed. Perhaps the most famous basketball player from New York is Kemba Walker.
There is an opinion that Canada, and more specifically Toronto, in terms of fertility in the "production" of basketball players is second only to Los Angeles, Chicago and the metropolitan area around Washington.
This breakthrough in Canadian basketball began with the Nike CIA Bounce, which was founded in 2004 by Tony McIntyre. It was the first team from Canada to play in a Nike EYBL tournament and be accredited by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)*. The Nike EYBL, short for Elite Youth Basketball League, is a tournament featuring 42 of the top qualifying basketball teams from the US and now Canada. Almost every top Canadian player has played in CIA Bounce at one time or another, including Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett.
* - AAU is an amateur sports organization that was founded in 1888 with the aim of creating common standards in amateur sports. Initially, the AAU worked with the US Olympic Committee to prepare American athletes for the Olympics. Now the main task of the AAU is the development of young athletes.
But the turning point came in 2010, when former basketball player Jesse Tipping rebuilt the arena into a basketball academy called the Athlete Institute (AI). It was there that Jamal Murray spent his high school career and Ton Maker, the first student from Canada to be drafted in the first round. Jesse, seeing the number of talented Canadians who go to play in American preparatory academies, decided that Canada, in particular Toronto, was not plowed, and opened his own academy.
AI is based in Mono Village on the outskirts of Orangeville, a small town about an hour from downtown Toronto. The family decided to settle there after moving frequently due to Jesse's father's job due to the relative proximity to everything in Southern Ontario. AI is played by three teams, the main of which is called "Orangeville Prep" and represents AI in tournaments in the USA. The other two teams compete locally and are de facto farm clubs for the Orangeville Prep. And as it turned out, small Mono turned out to be an ideal place for the development of young basketball players.
To learn more about the epicenter of Canadian basketball development, I got in my car and drove down the countryside to Mono.
"Athlete's Institute" in Mono.
There I had the opportunity to speak with Tony McIntyre, now Director of Basketball Operations, and Alex Dominato, Director of Admissions and Recruiting.
Part of my conversation with them:
About choosing a small town:
- Why Orangeville?
- [Jessie's] family wanted to return to Ontario. His father once told us a funny story. While still living in England, he went to a map shop, bought a map, stuck a pin and rope into it, and drew a radius that would cover everything that was dear to him in Ontario. Come to think of it, Orangeville is an hour from the airport and an hour from downtown Toronto.
- Is there an advantage to play here?
Absolutely. I think location is one of our biggest strengths. When a player comes to us, he has two priorities: study and sports. It's a quiet, small town - there's not much to do here.
Also, thanks to the location, we have the opportunity to be visible only when we want it [in games with American teams], but we can also retire to our quiet corner. And I think it attracts some people. When a student plays in the best academies in the US, he is in the public eye all the time and this can ultimately have a negative impact on the player.
There are so many life skills that make a successful basketball player. Many people forget that when they graduate [from school], they still have to be a student-athlete.
After all, these guys represent our lifetime program. Wherever the player goes next, people will judge our work by those players. Reputation means a lot to us. When these players are shown on TV and mentioned that they are our graduates, the last thing we want is for people to think: "who raised this jerk."
AI has gained a good reputation abroad. One of the most famous alumni, Ton Maker, was born in South Sudan, grew up in Australia and went to school in the USA. But the pressure that Tony McIntyre talked about turned out to be too much, and Macer moved to Orangeville Prep. Boys from Germany and Great Britain also played for the team. Starting next season, the first Chinese citizen in the history of the academy will play in the team.
Even American players are starting to look into this program, especially from Buffalo, where Coach McIntyre has a special relationship with some of the players and their families since CIA Bounce. But the recruiting network doesn't end with Ontario and frontier Buffalo. The Orangeville Prep had a very strong imprint from players from Quebec and British Columbia. And the basis of this success is the ethics that everyone adheres to. They say that what they need most is not jumping boys, but good people. And the results of this approach are visible to the naked eye. For example, many alumni spend the entire summer at Mono preparing for the next season. While I was taking pictures, three graduates were training in the hall with their son Tony, who is also an AI coach.
So how do they explain the success of Canadian basketball? First, they list all the same factors I mentioned earlier, especially immigration and Vince Carter. Plus, they see one factor that gets little coverage when it comes to discussing Canadian basketball: style.
Canadian basketball combines American and European styles. On the one hand, Canadians pay due attention to the technique peculiar to Europeans, but on the other hand, they do not forget about the role of athleticism. Both Alex and Tony believe that the Americans have long dominated due to crazy athleticism. Now players are required to have a greater understanding of the game and some technical aspects.
But both note proximity to the USA. Unlike Europeans, Canadians have the opportunity to follow the same path as the Americans. Even as a child, they have the opportunity to try their hand against the best peers in America.
The Future of Basketball in Canada
Tony McIntyre (L) - Director of Basketball Operations and Alex Dominato (R) - Director of Admissions and Recruiting.
And they all agree that basketball has a bright future in Canada. The Raptors' championship will continue to raise the profile of basketball in a hockey-obsessed country. The only issue they see is whether Canada's relatively fragile basketball infrastructure can keep up with the demand for basketball. Tony McIntyre also adds that Kawhi's now-legendary shot against Philadelphia will have an even more lasting impact on Canadian basketball than the NBA Finals. That this throw will inspire kids to take a ball or even a crumpled piece of paper in their hands, just as Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant once inspired this previous generation.
And I can't argue with them. As a Canadian and living in Toronto, I can see firsthand how much the sport has taken root in Canada, especially in Toronto. Nearly every driveway to the house now has a basketball hoop where a hockey net once was.
The parks are full.
Night basketball leagues are gaining popularity, almost on par with night hockey. In the upcoming draft, 7 Canadians could be drafted at once, including RJ Barrett, who is predicted to be 3rd overall in the Knicks.
Articles and documentaries are being written about this phenomenon, and this is just the beginning. Basketball will soon become a national treasure. Believe it or not, I'll leave you with the following statistic: Only 10 percent of Canadians said they followed the NBA until the Raptors' amazing playoffs - now that number is 40 percent.
Photo: Gettyimages.ru/Ezra Shaw, Patrick Smith, Matthew Stockman; Ruscanus; cbc.ca; facebook.com/athleteinstitute
Basketball Map of the World: Canada | VTB United League | VTB United League
In the Basketball Map of the World project, we expand horizons and remember all foreign players in the history of the League, talk about foreign championships and national teams of different countries. Today we are going to Canada.
Population : 38 million people. Players in League history : 4. Full list of players : Denham Brown, Kyle Landry, Philip Scrubb, Melvin Agim.
The first Canadian in the history of the VTB United League is Denem Brown. The 2004 NCAA champion with the University of Connecticut and one of the few basketball players to score three-figure points in a match (Brown scored 111 points in a 2002 high school match), in 2010 he signed a contract with Ukrainian Dnipro. Brown played 10 games in the VTB United League, averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds.
The leader in the number of seasons played (5) and games played (114) in the VTB United League among Canadian basketball players is Kyle Landry. The center played in the League from 2012 to 2017 for Triumph and Zenit. His averages were 11.2 points and 5.9 rebounds.
The last time Canadian basketball players played in the VTB League was in the 2018/19 season. Then the players of the Canadian national team Philip Scrubb and Melvin Ajim played for Zenit and UNICS, respectively.
The National Basketball League of Canada is practically the same age as the VTB United League, it was founded in 2011. During this time, 18 clubs managed to play in the NBL, 8 teams took part in the last championship.
In 8 seasons (not counting the canceled 2019/20 season), four different clubs have become NBL champions. The leader in terms of the number of victories is the London Lightning team (4 titles).
The NBL is set up like the NBA - the head of the league is a commissioner, all teams are divided into two divisions, the championship has a salary cap, the draft is held annually in the summer, the All-Star Game was held (from 2012 to 2014), and the division finals and the final NBL - series up to 4 wins.
The NBL also has individual awards: Finals and Regular Season MVP, Canadian Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player of the Year.
Interestingly, last season only basketball players from the USA and Canada participated in the championship.
Interesting Fact
From 1995 to 2000, Canadian cities hosted the Naismith Cup before the start of the NBA season, an exhibition game honoring Canadian-born basketball founder James Naismith. The match was played between two Canadian teams of the National Basketball Association - the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies.
The main purpose of the Naismith Cup was to promote basketball in Canada. In 1995, the match was held in Winnipeg, in 1996 - in Calgary, in 1997 - in Halifax, in 1999 - in Edmonton, and in 2000 - in Ottawa. In 1998, the Vancouver match was canceled due to a lockout.
Canada National team
Rank FIBA : 21 Members of FIBA : since 1936 Achievements : Silver winners of the Olympic Games (1936), Silver winners of the America Cup (1980, 1999)
The most successful for the Canadian team was their first official tournament - the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The team, which had just become a member of FIBA and assembled from university players, reached the final, where they lost to the USA in the decisive match (8:19).
In 1976 and 1984, the Canadians were again close to the medals of the Olympic tournament, but in both cases they took only 4th place. In 1976, Canada lost to the USA in the semi-finals (77:95) and the USSR in the match for 3rd place (72:100), at 19In 1984, the Canadians again lost to the Americans in the semifinals (59:78), and lost to Yugoslavia in the bronze medal match (82:88).
In the era of Steve Nash, the best basketball player in the history of the country, Canada finished 7th at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and also won medals at the America's Cup in 1999 (silver) and 2001 (bronze).
Today, the Canadian national team, which occupies the 21st place in the FIBA rating, is considered one of the most promising teams in the world - there are many young players from the NBA in its potential composition. The Canadian team is headed by American specialist Nick Nurse, who in 2019led the Toronto Raptors to NBA victory.
The most famous players in Canadian history
Steve Nash . 2-time NBA regular season MVP (2005, 2006), 8-time NBA All-Star Game, 5-time NBA season leader in assists. In 2017 and 2018, Steve Nash became an NBA champion as a consultant to the Golden State Warriors. In 2018, the legendary point guard was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rick Fox . 3-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000-2002). In total, he spent 13 seasons in the NBA (930 games), playing for Boston and the Lakers. After the end of his playing career, Rick Fox became an actor.
Bill Wennington . 3-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls (1996-1998), Italian champion (1993) and winner of the 1983 Universiade gold medals. After the end of his playing career, Bill Wennington became a commentator, and in 2015 was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.
25 billion in 2016.
Basketball still trails well behind hockey and soccer among young Canadian players. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
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Each of these drew between 500,000 and 800,000
participants.
Popular among
women are sports such as swimming, golf, soccer, volleyball, and
downhill skiing. Men are mostly attracted to ice hockey, golf,
basketball, soccer, and baseball. Swimming, which came in first for
women, ranked eight in popularity for men. The most popular sport
for men (ice hockey) had a much higher participation rate (26%)
than did swimming (19%) for women.
What are your first associations with Canada? Hockey, maple syrup, maybe a high standard of living? But not basketball (at least until the Raptors' historic success in these playoffs). Many of you do not suspect, and those who even knew, have long forgotten that basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith back in 1891 year. 
Pearson. It was this liberal premier who introduced the world's first non-racial immigration system. Up to this point, the vast majority of immigrants to Canada were from European countries or countries with a predominantly European population, such as the United States or Australia. The father of the current prime minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, continued Pearson's immigration policy, and by 19In 1986, the percentage of visible ethnic minorities (eng. visible minorities) in Canada rose to 6.3 percent. In 1991 this figure was 9.4 percent, in 2001 it was 13.4 percent, and today it is about 25 percent. 
The fact is that in Canada, as in Russia, hockey has become a sport for the rich, and even for the indigenous population, and even more so for immigrants, who have every dollar in the account. Meanwhile, football and basketball only require running shoes and a ball. There is also a belief among many immigrants and their children that hockey is not the most welcoming sport for immigrants or minorities. 
There's a reason why, as schoolboys, we used to roll up a piece of paper, and when we threw it in the trash, we'd stop, yell "Kobe!" and at an acute angle they threw a paper "ball" into the basket. 
It was there that Jamal Murray spent his high school career and Ton Maker, the first student from Canada to be drafted in the first round. Jesse, seeing the number of talented Canadians who go to play in American preparatory academies, decided that Canada, in particular Toronto, was not plowed, and opened his own academy. 
But the pressure that Tony McIntyre talked about turned out to be too much, and Macer moved to Orangeville Prep. Boys from Germany and Great Britain also played for the team. Starting next season, the first Chinese citizen in the history of the academy will play in the team. 
In the upcoming draft, 7 Canadians could be drafted at once, including RJ Barrett, who is predicted to be 3rd overall in the Knicks. 
The team, which had just become a member of FIBA and assembled from university players, reached the final, where they lost to the USA in the decisive match (8:19). 
The Canadian team is headed by American specialist Nick Nurse, who in 2019led the Toronto Raptors to NBA victory. 
