After putting the Toronto Raptors and Grizzlies (originated in Vancouver) on the map just over twenty years ago, the NBA has drafted an influx of Canadian-born players including Kelly Olynyk, Anthony Bennett, Tyler Ennis, Tristan Thompson, and Cory Joseph to name a few. (And, oh, we can't forget Steve Nash in 1996).
But for some reason, many American-born NBA players are still having trouble name-checking other NBA players or pop stars born in Canada. Now that the NBA is having it's All-Star Weekend festivities in Toronto, you'd be surprised at the fact that numerous NBA players were unable to name at least five Canadians beyond Drake and Justin Bieber.
With the younger generation of NBA players who grew up hearing Canadian pop music stars like Avril Lavigne, Nelly Furtado, and a band like Nickelback who had their songs played to death on the radio during the early-to-mid naughts, or even watched Tom Green put his "bum on our lips" when we watched him on MTV back in 2000, you would think they would have a short list of five Canadians completed. Maybe they can't remember back that far in time, but there's really no excuse to not name Toronto nativeAndrew Wiggins, the 2015 Rookie of the Year, who played in Friday night's NBA vs. World game.
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[via ESPN]
