For three days last week, the NBA blitzed Vancouver.
Legendary (and still polarizing) point guard Isiah Thomas led a clinic at Notre Dame secondary, NBA Canada poured $65,000 to improve an aging gym at Strathcona community centre, and then the Toronto Raptors played the Sacramento Kings in an exhibition game at Rogers Arena. The halftime entertainment was a scrimmage between two Strathcona basketball teams. The players were six to eight years old. Of course, the crowd was into it.
The hard-core fans — knowledgeable about the sport and frantic to see it live at home — brought the house down as if the preseason NBA game was a post-season clincher. The sell-out crowd of 18,630 came early and stayed late to appreciate the hardwood before it was lifted off the ice and used again by the Canucks.
The teal shock of vintage Grizzlies jerseys stood out in a sea of red (and some purple) as Vancouver seemed to embrace the Raptors’ message: we can all cheer for a Toronto team. The Blue Jays had already made it so.
The Raptors pulled off a 99-94 win after letting the lead slip away briefly in the fourth quarter. Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan led all players with 21 points.
