I remember young Jay Triano came to my junior high school and telling us basketball will soon earn a spot in Canada. At that same time, Steve Nash just got his MVP from BC high school provincial championship.
As a person who’s been living in Toronto since 95, I have to say Vince Carter and the Raptors have more to do with the booming of Canadian NBA talent. Most of the current NBA stars like Jamal Murray grew up in Southern Ontario during the VC days. I love Nash and how he played, and yes he contributed greatly to Canada basketball, but if you ask those players (including Sim, AB, Webster-Chan who are playing in Taiwan) about who inspired them, most will tell you VC not Nash.