NBA Inducts Nav Bhatia in Hall of Fame: English Journalist Pens Inspiring Story of Toronto Raptors’ ‘Superfan’

The Hall of Fame is a place for superstars who grab headlines in the newspaper or become a trend on social media for their achievements in huge tournaments. But here is an inspiring story of Nav Bhatia, a former car salesman who was recently inducted by the NBA. Bhatia who is labelled as the 'Superfan' of the basketball team Toronto Raptors, proves that hard work reaps results sooner or later.  An English journalist, Joe Pompliano shares an inspiring account of Nav on social media. NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum Praises Indian Teams Who Participated in Jr. NBA Global Championship 2019, Says ‘Potential in India Incredible’.

Nav Bhatia moved to Canada from India in 1984 with a degree as a Mechanical Engineer. However, it was because of his turban and long beard, he struggled to find a job in Canada. After seamless hours of working, he finally accepted a job as a car salesman. Within, 90 days, Nav sold 127 cars and the record still stays intact. With this, he was promoted as General Manager and the business which had red marks in the accounting books changed to green. Bhatia ended up buying the dealership and then pursued his interests in basketball.

Since 1995 Bhatia has been supporting Toronto Raptors and is quite a prominent name with the support staff and players of the team. The reason behind the same was his regular appearance in the home games. His energy in the stands is electrifying that Bhatia is the loudest among all fans and thus the manager of the team noticed his passion. In 2018, Nav became the only fan in NBA history to receive an official championship ring.

His passion for the game even extended off the field. Nav spends $300k annually to send thousands of kids to Raptors games. He intentionally makes people from different backgrounds — black, white, brown, rich, poor, Christian, Muslim —sit next to each other for the sole purpose of bringing people together.

Here's a long thread of his success story:

Nav Bhatia also responded with utmost humility

After getting inducted, Nav said that he had promised his mother that he will never remove his turban. Nav also urged the fans to embrace everything that makes them different. The story of this 'Superfan' is no less than inspiring. Kudos to you Nav!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2021 03:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).