TORONTO — Professional basketball is a job, but it’s supposed to be fun. If you can’t enjoy yourself at some level and gain energy from what you’re doing day in and day out, it affects your performance.

The money is great and it spends well, but you can’t buy the satisfaction that comes with earning respect from what you do at work.

Anthony Bennett is having fun playing basketball right now. He’s loving playing for his country. He’s not working — he’s pursuing a passion on vacation. It showed every minute he was on the floor as he helped drive Canada’s scrappy, chippy and high-temperature 88-83 win over Argentina on Wednesday night.

The victory improved Canada to 2-0 in pool play and assured them a spot in the semifinals on Friday night. A win over Mexico on Thursday will ensure them the top seed and smoother path to the gold medal final on Saturday.

But the win was only part of what was important. Playing for your country is – or should be – an honour. But it can also pay great dividends for some players who haven’t quite found traction playing in the NBA or even in Europe.

And Bennett looks like he might stand to get the biggest pay off of all. He may not have been Canada’s best player – Andrew Nicholson erupted for 18 points and eight rebounds in the second half on his way to 24 and 12 as he led Canada back from a 50-44 hole at the half. Jamal Murray continued to look mature beyond his 18 years as he played a very effective 27 minutes and finished with 20 points in just his second senior team game, and Brady Heslip hit the eventual game winner with the only bit of daylight he got all night. Others contributed, too.

But watching Bennett play freely, confidently and with joy was a pleasure in itself. The first-overall pick has already been labelled a bust based on two dismal seasons with Cleveland and then Minnesota interrupted by injuries and a general leaking of confidence.

On Wednesday night he looked like a player born again. He hit his first shot, a clever little runner that guys 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds don’t typically have in their tool belt, got fouled on a drive and made both free throws, hit another jumper then pulled up for triple in transition that only a confident player takes and celebrated with a roar.

When was the last time he had that much fun playing basketball, he was asked.

“Honestly? I can’t really remember,” he said. “But it’s always fun playing for your country, going out there with the Toronto fans are definitely supportive; Canadian fans I should say. It feels good to get the win.”

While a number of Canada’s NBA players have opted not to play in the Pan Am Games for a wide range of reasons, Bennett has embraced the chance. His country needed him and he needed the chance to remember the player that was taken first overall by Cleveland in the 2013 draft, before shoulder surgeries and eye surgeries and high ankle sprains and coaches and organizations losing their faith in his ability to harness his enormous talent.

“I was just playing with a clear mind,” said Bennett. ” Kind of like back in my UNLV days. That’s what I’ve been trying to get back to.”

That’s the plan. That’s a big reason he’s here after two teams, two seasons and career averages of 5.2 points and 15.7 minutes a game, stats you never see beside a No. 1 pick. He wanted to come home, get comfortable, wrap a Canadian jersey around his shoulders like a blanket and heat up.

Bennett has soaked up the Games experience, whether it’s embracing living in the athletes’ village, trading pins, breaking the news that Kanye West was going to be at the closing ceremony or posting pictures of his national team jersey hanging in his locker.

“It’s pretty nice,” he said with a convincing smile. “We get taken care of, it makes you look forward to the Olympics. I can’t speak Spanish or Portuguese, so that’s the hard part, but everyone is really cool.”

And it’s translating to what he’s doing on the floor.

“That’s two great games for him,” said head coach Jay Triano. “He had 15 and 10 the other night and we thought coming into this it would be a big thing for him, his ability to score in many ways but just the energy and the effort that he’s putting in right now is the player I know him as.”

Playing in the NBA comes with perks, the money not the least of it. But it comes with complications and many players have kind of lost their way after entire seasons spent watching from the bench or fighting through injuries.

“There are so many things going on [in the NBA],” Bennett said. “But at the same time you have to push it aside and play your game.”

Playing here this week, Bennett is getting all the opportunities he could hope for to do just that. He was effective if a little rusty in Canada’s first win over the Dominican Republic – he’s played more minutes in two games here than he has since February.

But Wednesday night he looked loose and inspired. He got into it physically at one point with an Argentinean player and picked up a technical foul. When he came back into a tight game in the fourth quarter he put Canada up 78-76 with a long jumper with just over two minutes left and high-stepped back over centre, the crowd roaring approval.

He heard them. A whole building full of people loving how he was doing his job. It’s been a while. He felt it all the way to his soul.

“I don’t even know what to say, honestly,” he said. “It’s a huge moment, you’re playing back in Toronto with fans from all over the country, coming up to you and telling you to keep going, that feeling right there is heart-warming.”