Anthony Bennett shouts-out Toronto in post-game interview after Cavaliers’ win

Basketball has taken Anthony Bennett from the Jane and Finch neighborhood of Toronto, to West Virginia for a year, then Las Vegas for two, and now to Cleveland to play in the NBA for the Cavaliers.

The game has pulled him away but home still has a special place in his heart.

As the 2013 No. 1 overall pick begins his professional career by trying to get back into basketball shape after May surgery for a torn left rotator cuff kept him out of five-on-five drills for over three and a half months.

He struggled offensively in his Cavaliers debut, shooting just 2/12 from the field in a 99-87 win but did grab 10 rebounds in 22:45. His second game wasn't going much better, as he missed his first five shots, but Bennett exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the final period of the Cavaliers' 110-105 pre-season win over the Magic on Friday.

He revealed post-game that teammate and fellow Canadian Tristan Thompson drew on his love of home as a means of motivation.

Bennett is proud of his Jane and Finch roots and he's excited to be a part of Canada's bright basketball future.

He spent a portion of this summer with Thompson and the rest of the senior men's national team even though he was unable to participate in on-court activities while he recovered from his shoulder injury.

Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose have tattoos in homage of where they grew up, (Maryland and Washington, D.C. for Durant and Chicago for Rose). Metta World Peace a.k.a Ron Artest memorably gave a shout-out to Queensbridge, N.Y. in a post-game interview in the 2010 playoffs and LeBron James made reference to his hometown of Akron, Oh. after winning the title this past June.

Bennett joined Durant and Rose in adding hometown-themed ink to his body this offseason and then took a cue from Metta and LeBron and let the audience know where home is on TV.

Toronto's basketball story is changing right before our eyes. Bennett, Thompson, and Sports Illustrated cover star Andrew Wiggins are among those writing it.

They're proud of their city and they're giving their city reason to be proud of them.