Ride the elevator in any condo or office building, drop in on conversations in the Tim Horton’s line or look back at social media in the hours and days that followed Kawhi Leonard’s gripping series-winning shot against Philadelphia — or Sunday’s double-OT drama versus Milwaukee — and it’s not hard to understand that the Toronto Raptors have captured the minds and spirit of sports fans across the country.
The nationwide hoopla surrounding the Raptors was most evident during the memorable Game 7 last round, which was the most watched game in team history with over five million Canadians tuning in to witness Leonard’s heroics.
Within 24 hours, his iconic shot graced the cover of newspapers, earned more than 10 million video views across the NBA’s digital channels and was even immortalized in Legoland.
Toronto’s exciting playoff run — which continues Tuesday night against the Bucks with an opportunity for the Raptors to tie the Eastern Conference Finals series at two games apiece — has certainly helped raise the NBA’s profile in Canada, but upon a closer look the league has seen tremendous growth among fans in this country throughout the 2018-19 season, one that saw the Raptors trot out an exciting new superstar in Leonard and amass an impressive 58-win season.
When it comes to explaining the league’s growing popularity, “the Raptors are where it starts” says Dan MacKenzie, the managing director of NBA Canada.
“No matter the metrics, this is a big moment for a team gaining momentum and helping to raise awareness and popularity for the NBA across Canada,” says MacKenzie.
But the numbers tell the same story.
“What we’ve seen this year is that the Raptors success on the court really has translated to the metrics that we track,” he added.
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On television, aided by a unique media arrangement that ultimately sees each and every Raptors game broadcast to a national audience, viewership was up considerably this season compared to years past. Notably, it’s not just Raptors games that have seen a rise, but ratings for NBA games overall spiked a whopping 29 per cent during the 2018-19 campaign.
NBA merchandise sales are up 26 per cent during that span, while sponsorship activations jumped 40 per cent. MacKenzie calls these increases “significant” and says they suggest the league as a whole is creating a meaningful foothold in Canada.
The league boasts a growing number of emerging Canadian stars, headlined by Jamal Murray and soon to include 2019 projected Top-3 pick R.J. Barrett, which it says is catching the attention of sports fans north of the U.S. border. And again, the tremendous growth of the Raptors’ fanbase, brought on by the combination of all-star talent and at least five years now of winning basketball, is a monumental factor.
It’s only natural for new Raptors fans to gradually become NBA fans — or at minimum monitor rival teams — and the league has a distinct advantage in drawing new followers thanks to its bevvy of recognizable stars. In Canada, that’s an important distinction to make, especially as a growing number of newcomers to the country already arrive with an NBA knowledge base.
“NBA stars are global stars,” MacKenzie says. “Whether it’s LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis [Antetokounmpo], these guys are global superstars. Especially in a country like Canada, which is a country of immigrants and new Canadians, one of the factors we’re seeing is that the countries where a lot of Canadian immigration is coming from — places like China, the Philippines, India and southeast Asia — are places where basketball is extremely popular.”
In India, for example, the NBA is rapidly growing, with a new office opened in recent years, and the country is preparing to host its first official game this fall between the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers in Mumbai.
With all that in mind, it’s no real surprise that the Raptors and the NBA are more popular than ever.
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That puts the ball in the hands of NBA Canada, which needs to be ready to serve an army of new fans.
“Our objective is to nurture and build NBA fans in Canada,” says MacKenzie. “A lot of that is driven by the Raptors and their performance, which is outstanding,” he adds, but points out that there’s a lot more to it.
Having Raptors and NBA games widely available across Canada is important, as is the growth and promotion of the league’s digital properties, like League Pass, and its innovative augmented reality app.
NBA Canada also promotes its Jr. NBA program, “which is about trying to get young kids to pick up a ball and play,” and works to bring the live NBA experience to large markets outside of Toronto via the NBA Canada series and other events.
“So there’s a variety of aspects to it, but it really is about trying to bring the brand to life for people and to let fans express their fandom any way they choose,” says MacKenzie.
Everything is coming up roses right now as the NBA excitedly expands its Canadian fanbase.
But with the reality that the Raptors season could be over by week’s end, and that Leonard could be wearing another jersey next season — offering a gut-punch to fans and likely taking a large chunk out of the team’s win total and contender status in the process — you’d think there’s an innate fear the growth of the game in this country is at risk of taking a step back after several giant leaps forward this decade.
Not so, says MacKenzie, who has been working with the NBA in Canada for twenty years and maintains that while the Raptors’ performance may have helped to grow the league’s profile, their win total doesn’t alter the NBA’s efforts to serve Canadian fans.
"I’ve seen scenarios where the Raptors are extremely popular as they are now, and there have been years where the performance on the court hasn’t been what it is today," he says.
"And the objective is still the same — to try to build NBA fans."
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