Nav Bhatia | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Canadian |
Education | Mechanical engineering [1] |
Occupation | Businessman |
Years active | 1984–present |
Known for | Superfan of the Toronto Raptors |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award |
Website | navbhatiasuperfan |
Nav Bhatia (born July 9, 1951), [2] [3] nicknamed the Raptors Superfan, is a Canadian businessman and superfan of the Toronto Raptors basketball team. He founded and currently runs the Superfan Foundation to help unite people through the love of the sport.
Bhatia has attended every Toronto Raptors home game since 1995, temporarily ending in 2020 when he could no longer attend home games in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Raptors' temporary relocation to Tampa, Florida. His 26-years 100 percent Toronto home game attendance streak finally ended on December 10, 2021, when he was forced into isolation following a COVID-19 outbreak at an event he attended. [4] On June 19, 2018, Bhatia was named a recipient of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award. [5]
Bhatia moved to Toronto in 1984 in the midst of anti-Sikh riots in India. [6] [7] [8] He struggled to find work as a mechanical engineer and decided to work as a car salesman. [9] [10] He achieved a record 127 car sales in 3 months and bought the dealership 2 years later. [11] Bhatia is the owner of one of the top-selling Hyundai car dealerships in Canada. [12] [13]
He founded the Superfan Foundation in 2018 as a way to bring diverse people in Canada and around the world together through sport. [14] He spends $300K every year to send thousands of kids to Raptors games. [15] [16]
After the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship during the 2018–2019 season, he became the first ever fan to receive an official NBA Championship ring. [17]
In 2020, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Bhatia would be one of the first fans memorialized in its new superfan gallery for their 2020 induction class. [18] He was officially honored by the Hall of Fame on May 15, 2021, as part of their ceremonial induction weekend. [19]
In 2021, Bhatia was announced as the subject of both Superfan: The Nav Bhatia Story, a CBC Television documentary film which aired on December 3, 2021, [20] and Superfan, an upcoming Hollywood studio biopic slated to star Kal Penn as Bhatia. [21]
Bhatia is known for being the Raptors’ biggest fan, [22] having attended every Raptors home game in the franchise's 25-year history from 1995 to 2020, [23] until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Raptors to temporarily play their 2020–2021 season in Tampa, Florida. His 26-year 100% Toronto home game attendance streak finally ended on December 10, 2021, when he was forced into isolation due to attending an outbreak of COVID-19 at Masai Ujiri's Giants of Africa Gala, which he attended. [24]
He is frequently invited to talk about basketball in the media. [25] [26] He has an adopted daughter, Tia Bhatia, who is a YouTuber.
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Scotiabank Arena, which it shares with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team was founded in 1995 as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. Since the 2001–02 season, the Raptors have been the only Canadian-based team in the league, as the Grizzlies relocated from Vancouver to Memphis, Tennessee.
Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who serves as a basketball analyst for YES Network and formerly ESPN. He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, but occasionally played power forward later in his NBA career. He was an eight-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Team selection. He is the only player in NBA history to play as many as 22 seasons from his debut in 1999 to his retirement in 2020. He was the scoring leader on the 2000 United States Men's Olympic Basketball Team where the USA defeated France to win the nation's twelfth Men's Basketball Olympic gold medal. He entertained crowds with his leaping ability and slam dunks, earning him nicknames such as "Vinsanity", "Air Canada", and "Half Man, Half Amazing". He has been ranked as the greatest dunker of all time by numerous players, journalists, and by the National Basketball Association (NBA). In addition to his dunking prowess, he was a prolific three-point shooter, making the ninth most three-point field goals in league history.
Nicholas David Nurse is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach for the Toronto Raptors, whom he led to an NBA championship in 2019 and with whom he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2020.
John Kennedy Fitzgerald, is a Canadian former international soccer player. After retiring he became a businessman and corporate lawyer.
Kyle Terrell Lowry is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A six-time All-Star, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016 and won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, their first and only title in franchise history. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Raptors players of all time due to his work with turning the franchise around, from the post-Vince Carter era to their first-ever championship in 2019. As starting point guard, Lowry played an integral role in the Raptors' success from 2012 to 2021. Lowry was also a member of the U.S. national team that won a gold medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Isoko people are an ethnolinguistic group who inhabit the Isoko region of Delta State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria. They are people of southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger delta. Delta State and Bayelsa State are part of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) is a law enforcement agency serving Alameda County, California. ACSO is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the American Correctional Association (ACA), National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) and the California Medical Association (CMA).
Benjamin Chukwukelo Uzoh is a Nigerian-American former basketball player. He played in international competitions for Nigeria. Standing at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and playing at the point guard, Uzoh played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors. He also played for several teams across North America, Europe, South America and Africa.
Canadian Immigrant is a free monthly magazine and daily website for recent arrivals to Canada. The properties are owned by Torstar, and are currently published by Metroland Media Group, with print distribution throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Masai Michael Ujiri is a British-born Nigerian/Kenyan-Canadian professional basketball executive and former player who is the president of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The 2013–14 Denver Nuggets season was the 47th season of the franchise, and its 38th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Nuggets struggled for much of the year, finishing with a 36–46 record, missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
Pete D’Alessandro is an American businessman, currently the Executive Vice President of basketball operations for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association. Prior to joining the Magic, D’Alessandro was the general manager for the Sacramento Kings and an assistant general manager with the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets twice.
The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fine Foods Centre, replacing the Centre's former basketball tenant, the Mississauga Power of the National Basketball League of Canada. The team regularly plays approximately 2-4 home games at the Scotiabank Arena, the home of their parent club, the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors 905 is the eighth NBA G League team to be owned by an NBA team and the first NBA G League team to be located outside of the United States.
Wali Shah is a Canadian speaker, poet, musician and philanthropist. He has spoken most prominently on topics including bullying, mental health and social change, while creating spoken word poetry specifically tailored to his projects and engagements.
The YMCA of Greater Toronto is a charity organization working on social issues in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
The 2019 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018–19 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series held from May 30 through June 13, 2019, the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeated the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, 4–2, earning the franchise its first NBA championship as well as the first win by an NBA team based outside the United States. Acquired by the Raptors via a trade during the off-season, Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in his career.
Bobby Webster is an American professional basketball executive who is the general manager for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Courtney M. Charles is a Canadian-born basketball executive who currently works as the vice-president of basketball and franchise operations for the NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors. Charles oversees business operations, basketball affairs and long-term strategic planning for Raptors 905.
The Nets–Raptors rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors. Both teams play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The rivalry started to get intense in the 2000s, the starting point being in 2004, when All-Star Vince Carter got traded to the Nets. The two teams didn't meet in the playoffs until 2007, where the Nets defeated the Raptors, 4–2. They then met again in 2014, where the Nets beat the Raptors again, but this time in seven games. Six years later, the two teams met again in the playoffs, but this time, the Raptors swept the Nets in four games. The Raptors have a 69–56 advantage against the Nets, and have the longest winning streak, which is 12 games from January 6, 2016 to March 23, 2018.
Sarah Zeinab Chan is a South Sudanese former professional basketball player and lead scout in Africa for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Toronto Raptors, who grew up as a refugee in Kenya. She is the first woman to scout for an NBA team in Africa. She is also the founder of Home At Home/Apediet Foundation, a non-governmental organization that combats child marriage and advocates sports and education for girls. In 2022, Chan was named to the BBC 100 Women list.