The city of Toronto has a rather rich history of sporting culture and has enjoyed a huge amount of success across a variety of different sporting events.

Of course, many will instantly think of the National Hockey League and the ice hockey franchise, The Toronto Maple Leafs, however it is important to note that there are a number of other professional sports teams from the city that have continued to do rather well.

Basketball has been a popular sport for Canadians with iconic players coming from Toronto

One of those teams is the Toronto Raptors, with the sport of basketball proving to be rather popular with fans and players from the region! Naturally, all you need to do to gain an understanding of how popular the sport is for the people of Toronto is to see how many of them have been able to make it to the National Basketball Association (NBA) whilst it would have been easy to suggest basketball is popular by the NBA Championship parade the team had held after winning in 2019.

There have been a number of individuals who have been able to get through the college game and be drafted by an NBA franchise at some point in their career to have hailed from The 6ix, with some of them being able to become some of the biggest stars in the game!

This article will take a look at some of those to have competed in the past from the city and the surrounding areas of The 6ix before we take a look at some of the current stars that are gracing the basketball court and making an incredible impact, which will likely end up with them becoming highly-respected players in the future!

Rick Fox

Rick Fox is perhaps considered to be one of the best basketball players to have ever played in the NBA to come from Canada, let alone Toronto.

Fox’s best run in the NBA ought to be his time with the Boston Celtics. He had his best run with them during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons. However, he found more success in terms of championships after he joined the LA Lakers, where he helped the team to a three-peat.

3-Peat Lakers mural with Kobe, Shaq, D Fish, Robert Horry, Rick Fox and Phil Jackson

By sloe_motions (private residence)pic.twitter.com/v7k3p0huL8
— Kobe & Gianna Bryant Murals (@kobemurals) February 1, 2021

During his career, Fox scored 8,966 points where he managed to achieve averages of 9.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game throughout his career which lasted 13 years and 1,041 games across the regular season and the playoffs.

Jamaal Magloire

Jamaal Magloire is another former player to that had a successful career in the NBA as an individual who hails from Toronto. He is the basketball development consultant for his hometown professional basketball franchise, as he looks to provide the Toronto Raptors with as much help as he can in his role.

Of course, some will remember him for what he managed to achieve whilst he was on the court for 12 years, as he played for various teams during his NBA career.

After being drafted in the first round of the 2000 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Magloire went on to have a very successful career. He was an All-Star in 2004 and he played for a number of teams, including the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks, and New Orleans Pelicans.

He retired in 2012 as a Raptors player after obtaining averages of 7.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game.

Who is the future of the NBA that comes from Toronto?

As we mentioned previously, Toronto has a rich sporting culture, therefore it should come as no surprise that there are a number of players who come from the city and could be about to have their own special careers within the NBA.

Indeed, there will be many from Ontario that will be looking to cheer them on as much as they can, with some perhaps likely to consider placing a sports bet on the teams that they play for. Some may even consider looking to wager on a prop bet that the individuals listed below could be involved in, too!

Many may be looking to do this now because legal Ontario sportsbooks are set to go live on April 4, 2022, and given the sporting culture of the city, it would be an incredible surprise if we did not see a number of people from Ontario looking to enhance their overall experiences by backing their own players in the future.

Naturally, those that are excited about the upcoming changes to the online sports betting industry may be keen to know who some of their own are currently competing in the NBA, and why they might want to place a wager that involves them or the teams that they compete for.

Therefore, we have taken it upon ourselves to take a look at two individuals who are currently making big names for themselves that hail from The 6ix!

RJ Barrett

Toronto native Rowan Alexander “RJ” Barrett Jr. might still only be 21-years-old, however those that have followed him since his college days will be telling others that they should have been believing the hype around him a while ago.

The youngest Knick to score 45 or more points since Carl Braun in 1947.@RjBarrett6 📈 pic.twitter.com/KARBGUw46L
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 26, 2022

Currently playing for the New York Knicks after being selected as the third pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Barrett has continued to excel and has been a crucial piece of the puzzle that the New York franchise continues to struggle to deal with at times.

He might only be in his third year with the franchise, however he has managed to become a top defender that has shown he has amazing ball-handling skills, as well as a rather exceptional three-point shot! Given that he is only 21, it would be hard not to see the forward continue to progress in the NBA and be one of the game’s best if he continues to follow the trajectory that he has already set!

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is another top player to be competing in the NBA currently that was born in Toronto, with the 23-year-old currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder after initially being drafted in the 2018 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers on the same day.

His move to the Thunder came in 2019 as part of the blockbuster trade that saw Paul George go the other way, and it seems that he has been able to thrive whilst in Oklahoma and being given an opportunity in a franchise that appears to prioritize its younger players and their growth.

Gilgeous-Alexander is an effective point scorer and has shown how crucial he is to the team in recent matches in the 2021/22 NBA season. In August 2021, he agreed to a 5 year, $172 million rookie extension that could become a 5 year, $207 million Rookie Max extension if he were to make an All-NBA Team.