Canada is well known for its many talents in hockey, but things are different now after Anthony Bennett from the Great White North was the first player from Canada to be selected first overall in the NBA Draft. Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Bennett on Thursday could serve as a red letter moment in a golden era for basketball in Canada and with new talents on the way and we can see a great future for Canadian basketball.

Even Stephen Harper the Canadian Prime Minister, who is a strong fun of hockey, congratulated Bennett on twitter. “Congrats to @ Anthony Bennett for being the first Canadian to ever to have been drafted # overall in the NBA draft. I wish you luck in Cleveland and we are all behind you.” Harper wrote.

Joining his compatriot, Trisha Thompson who had been ranked as the highest drafted Canadian when he was taken fourth overall last year by Cleveland, Bennett will have company in the Cavs.

He was in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as a freshman when he entered draft. The team’s newest forward left New York for Cleveland after the draft to meet reporters. When asked if there was anything special about this day of nonstop activities he went silent for a moment and then said,” Yeah, the private jet that I flew in on this morning.” He said this with a chuckle on an interview he had with Reuters over the phone on Friday.

“Though it’s not really something I do, I can get used to it.”

When asked to comment about the reactions he is getting from back home, he said,” Just been getting a lot of love.”

Steve Nash, two times NBA Most Valuable Player who is now in the Los Angeles Lakers joined the prime minister on commenting on twitter. Nash who was the previous top Canadian pick before Thompson and went 15th overall to the Phoenix Suns in 1996 wrote, “Proud on Proud!”

Kelly Olynyk of British Columbia also made history on Thursday when he was selected and headed to the Boston Celtics as the 13th pick. Bennett was proud of the news and the two marked as the first two Canadians do be among the top 14 so called lottery picks awarded to non-playoff teams.

 According to Bennett basketball in Canada is on the rise.

“For sure, we have quite a number of players in the league, some have just been drafted and some guys are on the college level and in high school you will find others. I feel like there is a strong group of Canadian guys who are on every level in basketball. “It is going to be pretty crazy later on,” Bennett who admitted to dreams of Olympic glory said. “Everyone would want to bring back a medal.”

It should not come as a surprise when the popularity of the basketball in Canada rises.