With the Toronto Raptors finally ending Canada's drought for a championship in one of the four main North American professional sports leagues, it appears the team will visit the prime minister.
"We're here. Let's go see (Canada's prime minister Justin) Trudeau up in Ottawa. We're Canada's team," head coach Nick Nurse said on "Prime Time Sports" Wednesday.
Nurse revealed that plans are already underway for the team to visit Parliament Hill in Ottawa, approximately 220 miles northeast of Toronto.
Still, 11 of the players and much of the staff on the Raptors' title-winning squad hail from America, where champions have traditionally met with the U.S. president for a ceremonial visit. For the White House's part, the Raptors have not received an official invitation yet, according to Nurse.
In any case, title-winning basketball teams have shown reluctance toward visiting the White House in recent years. Until the 2019 NCAA title-winning Baylor Lady Bears accepted the invitation this year, none of the NBA, WNBA, or NCAA men's or women's champions had made the once-traditional trip since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.
