Things didn’t go so well for the Toronto Raptors in their game against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, when they were taken care of with ease in a double-digit blowout.
Still, for some Canadian fans, there was a pretty cool moment late in the game when Hornets rookie Nate Darling checked in for the first time in his NBA career. In doing so, the Halifax native became the first Nova Scotian to play in an NBA game.
Darling went undrafted in last year’s draft, landing with the Hornets on a two-way contract. In a neat coincidence, former Raptors and Team Canada head coach Jay Triano is currently on the Hornets bench as an assistant.
It’s twice as cool for Darling that his NBA debut comes against the Raptors, and Toronto head coach Nick Nurse knows all about the Canadian talent in basketball as Canada’s current head coach.
