Chatham-born professional basketball player talks Raptors fever in the WNBA

For professional basketball player Bridget Carleton, the Toronto Raptors' historic run in the 2019 NBA Finals is a sign that interest in Canada's basketball market is growing.

Born in Chatham, Ont., Carleton plays for the Connecticut Sun, a professional women's basketball team that's part of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), as well as Canada's women's national basketball team.

"It's not just Toronto's team, it's not just Ontario's team … the whole country is standing by the Raptors," said Carleton.

"I think it's really, really cool and everyone's excited about the sport."

As an athlete performing in a strictly U.S. sports league, Carleton explained that she's not surrounded by fellow Canadians to join in the Raptors excitement.

Still, she said she's managed to convince some of her teammates to jump on the bandwagon.

"They are rooting for the Raptors over the Golden State Warriors, but they aren't original Raptors fans, so I have drawn a couple over," she said.

I say Raptors in six.- Bridget Carleton, Connecticut Sun player

At the same time, Carleton said that the excitement brewing around the Raptors has brought more attention to all levels of basketball, even raising the possibility of launching a WNBA franchise in Toronto.

"People want to watch good athletics, good sports, good basketball, so the fan support would be there and I think basketball's basketball, whether you're watching a men's competition [or] a women's competition," she said.

Carleton is focused on a match against the Atlanta Dream on June 9. 

But still, she plans on watching Game 4 the Friday before.

"I say Raptors in six," said Carleton.

"I think Golden State will get one more, but I think we'll be able to close it out."