Two of Canada's brightest basketball talents recently had the chance to rub elbows with the family of the man responsible for creating the game they love.

Sitting on one side of a podium inside the gym at the Taggart Family YMCA-YWCA on Tuesday night were Minnesota Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins, last year's NBA Rookie of the Year, and new Toronto Raptor and fellow Toronto native Cory Joseph. On the other side of the podium was Jim Naismith, the grandson of basketball founding father Dr. James Naismith.

For an event that was part of the NBA's tour through Canada to promote the sport north of the border and give those who might not otherwise have the chance an opportunity to see their favourite players in action, the trio's presence in Ottawa on Tuesday was particularly fitting.

The significance was, apparently, not lost on any of them.

"It's an honour to be here, being Canadian (and Dr. Naismith) was Canadian himself," said Joseph, who was outnumbered on this night sitting, along with Wiggins, next to Timberwolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell and guard Sam LaVine. "To have that vision (Naismith) had so long ago, it's unbelievable."

The 20-year-old Wiggins, who along with the rest of the NBA player contingent spent time putting on a Fit Clinic in the gym for young players from Ottawa and Almonte, was equally touched by the opportunity to rub elbows with a member of basketball's First Family.

"It definitely was (cool) just to meet him, his family is so historic," said Wiggins, whose Timberwolves will face the Toronto Raptors in an exhibition game at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday night. "Without (the Naismiths), I wouldn't be who I am today. Basketball's my comfort zone (and) they helped create my comfort zone."

Jim Naismith, who took charge of the Naismith family legacy following the death of his brother three years ago, called the opportunity to be near Canada's best basketball exports "an unexpected blessing."

One might think that talking hoops for a Naismith would have been something that came up daily around the dinner table growing up, but that wasn't the case. In fact, the Texas native wasn't fully aware of the contribution his grandfather -- who died when Jim was three -- had on the sports landscape until a few years ago. The family, he told the Sun, was humble above all else.

"I had to kind of figure out (the significance) because it was never a big deal," he said. "I found out the fact itself but it was kind of like, 'okay, granddad invented basketball, but what's for supper?'"

"I'm quite confident, at this stage of my life, that my dad knew that if we thought there was something special about us for something that somebody else did, it might have caused us problems."

After his brother's death, Jim and his wife, Bev, decided it was important to step up, but the decision had nothing to do with being in the spotlight.

"We decided this is something we probably shouldn't pass on," he said, pointing to events like Tuesday's, involving children, as reasons why they made the decision.

Conversations with players along the way also had a major impact.

"People that I've met have said similar things: Jim, your granddad saved my life," he said. "That's important. It gets you where it counts."

For Jim, like his grandfather, it's about helping young people through sport. Not fame, not money, not anything remotely selfish.

"Granddad was never focused on money," he said following Tuesday's event, which also featured the unveiling of the refurbished basketball court at Almonte's Augusta Park. "He saw it as a potential negative and I share that view "¦ He didn't have to make money out the deal, he just had to work to help these young people and he was very consistent with that."

REPRESENTING CANADA AN HONOUR: WIGGINS

As he fields the same barrage of questions during the NBA Canada series this month, Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Andrew Wiggins minced no words about what it means for him to be the face of Canadian basketball. He's also well-aware of everything that comes with it and appears totally at ease with that, too.

"It's an honour, but with that comes responsibility," he said Tuesday before taking part in an NBA Canada Fit Clinic at the Taggart Family YMCA-YWCA. "I have a lot of young kids looking up to me, older kids looking up to me (and) I'm here to try to do everything possible I can to give them faith and hope and confidence to do the same thing."

Wiggins most recently helped lead Canada to a bronze medal at the 2015 FIBA Americas, where he averaged 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Twitter: @chrishofley