Indian-origin Basketball superfan Nav Bhatia became the first fan to be honored within the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Last week, the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame announced its inductees. The list included legendary names like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett.
Nav Bhatia, a 69-year-old Indian who has never played or coached any NBA team had made it into the prestigious NBA Hall of Fame. Toronto Raptors tweeted to congratulate their fan Nav Bhatia, “A true icon. Congratulations on being inducted to the @Hoophall, @superfan-nav.”
Bhatia himself also posted several pictures on Instagram. “In the greatest building basketball has, the name Superfan Nav Bhatia will be immortalized. There is now a turban and the first fan honored within Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame,” captioned Bhatia.
In another post by Nav said, “A fan doesn’t dream of what I have been blessed with. From a ring to the parade and now this. I cannot describe the feeling of seeing my jersey and turban in the greatest building for the basketball of all time.”
Bhatia has not missed a single Raptors game since 1995 and on his website, he stated that his goal is to unite people of all ages and backgrounds through the games of basketball so they don’t have to face the discrimination Nav has faced over the years.
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Bhatia also has a Nav Bhatia Superfan Foundation, which is a non-profitable organization dedicated to raising money to build basketball courts and camps for kids in Canada and across the world.
Nav was born and brought up in India. He was a mechanical engineer and shifted to Canada due to the anti-Sikh riots in India following the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi in 1984.
After moving to Canada, Bhatia started working as a car salesman. Later with his skills, he turned into a self-made millionaire within just a decade.