What to know
- The NBA has announced two 2026 NBA Canada Games featuring the Toronto Raptors in Quebec City and Vancouver.
- The Raptors will face the Miami Heat in Quebec City on Oct. 3 and the Los Angeles Clippers in Vancouver on Oct. 10.
- This will be Quebec City’s first-ever NBA game, while Vancouver will host its eighth NBA Canada Game.
The NBA is expanding across Canada once again, with two preseason games that will bring the Toronto Raptors to both Quebec City and Vancouver this fall.
The Raptors will face the Miami Heat at Quebec City’s Videotron Centre on Oct. 3 before heading west to take on the Los Angeles Clippers at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Oct. 10.
This will be the first ever NBA preseason game played in Quebec City, while Vancouver will host its eighth NBA Canada Game.
These games continue the NBA’s effort to grow the league beyond Toronto, giving fans across the country an opportunity to watch NBA basketball in person.
Canada’s presence in the NBA has grown significantly over the past two decades. Starting from Steve Nash to the emergence of stars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, and Andrew Wiggins. Canadian players have become some of the league’s biggest names. The popularity of basketball has continued to rise across the country at both the professional and grassroots levels.
The Raptors have been viewed as Canada’s team for a long time, but bringing preseason games to different areas of the country can allow more fans to experience the NBA without travelling to Toronto.
“Bringing the NBA to places in Canada that’s not Toronto is so big because there is not a consistent opportunity for a lot of people to catch basketball if it’s not in Toronto.” True Sports Live NBA analyst Malik Taylor-Williams told Now Toronto
The league has held NBA Canada Games in several cities since 2012, drawing hundreds of thousands of fans and showcasing the sport in markets across the country. This year’s games will be the 21st and 22nd NBA Canada Games, with Quebec City becoming the seventh Canadian city to host one.
For Vancouver, the game also represents another opportunity to celebrate the city’s connection to the NBA.
“We used to have two NBA teams and now it’s very rare that games are anywhere outside of the Scotiabank arena. Circumstances like this are amazing for the growth in the Canadian NBA community” Taylor-Williams said.
While the games will not count in the regular season standings, they represent another step in the NBA’s continued investment in Canadian basketball. The Raptors have consistently played a central role in that effort, bringing the league to communities from coast to coast while strengthening the connection between the franchise and fans outside the Greater Toronto Area.
For basketball fans in Vancouver and Quebec City, the games offer more than just two preseason matchups. It is another sign of basketball’s continued growth in Canada and a chance for more communities to be part of the NBA experience.
