NBA There are 30 teams in the NBA league, 29 of which are domestic, and there is only one Toronto Raptors for N overseas teams. Although Toronto is very close to the United States, the Raptors' home game is in Canada, which is less than 300 kilometers away from New York in a straight line.
You may not know that the Raptors were not the only team outside of the United States. Since 1995, the NBA has begun overseas expansion under the leadership of league president Stern , And Canada, which is close to the United States, is the first choice. In addition to the Toronto Raptors, there was initially a Canadian team that also joined the NBA. He was the Vancouver Grizzlies. In terms of geographic location, like Toronto, Vancouver is also close to the United States, and the two cities are located on the east-west border.
However, in the next few years, the records of the two teams were very bad. There were also factors such as bad weather, high taxes, unpopularity with fans and superstars, and the need to leave their homes. It is difficult for the two Canadian teams to attract star players, and the record can only be worse and worse. Under this circumstance, the Grizzlies have nothing to do but choose to relocate. The team moved to Memphis in the United States at the beginning of the 21st century. Since then, only the Raptors have been left overseas.
Although Toronto is close to New York, it is abroad after all. Therefore, according to the regulations of mutual visa exemption between the United States and Canada, American basketball players do not require a work visa to participate in the game in Canada, as long as they bring their own passports. . For non-U.S. players from NBA teams traveling to Canada, the visas will be handled by the player union. Foreign players only need to bring two things: passports and visas. For example, to play in the Raptors requires a work visa and passport. When Curry goes to the Raptors to play a game, he only needs to bring his passport. Someone may want to ask, what kind of visa do foreign athletes need to participate in the US NBA? Let's talk about it in detail.
If you want to participate in an NBA game,Foreign athletes must have a P1 visa, which requires a written certificate issued by the NBA League Office, stating that they have signed a contract with the foreign player. For example, Yi Jianlian needed this type of visa when they first arrived in the NBA. The visa is valid for 5 years. If a foreign player has played in the NBA for more than five years, the Players Union will remind you to update it. And during the validity period of the visa, you can also apply to become a U.S. citizen.
In addition, what should an athlete do if he has dual nationality of ? Just bring your passport, no visa is required. As we all know, the United States recognizes dual citizenship, and many players have dual citizenships of Asian and American. For example, Clarkson, who entered the NBA through the draft in 2014, has dual citizenships of the Philippines and the United States. He also served as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Philippine delegation for 18 years. And now playing for the Utah Jazz, if the team is going to Toronto to play away, Clarkson only needs to bring a passport, and no work visa is required.
Although the process is simple, there are still some NBA players who missed the Raptors game because they did not bring their passports. One of the most famous is O'Neal, who played for the Warriors at that time, and when he went to the Raptors for an away game, he forgot to bring his passport. When he returned with his passport, he had already missed the game, which also caused the Warriors to be defeated by the Raptors on the road.
Let's finally give you an easy-to-understand example! The home games of other NBA teams to the Raptors are like going to Internet cafes. Strictly managed Internet cafes require an ID card. Without an ID card, you can’t go online. Of course, there are many irregular Internet cafes in China. If you do not bring your ID card, the boss will give you a new ID card. Of course, the NBA does not have this kind of "shortcut" behavior? After all, it is a formal league, not an underground Internet cafe, but the player union will help prepare all the procedures in advance, and the team uniform team will remind them regularly.But if the player still forgets to bring his passport and work visa, he can only be absent. You can't get online without an ID card. That's why.
.
