Hidayet Turkoglu knows his people love him.

His basketball fans, sure.

But his Turkish basketball fans? Well, they are something else all together.

Draped in the red and white of Canada and Turkey, hundreds of Turkish Canadians filled the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night as Turkoglu and the Toronto Raptors faced the Indiana Pacers.

There were six-year-old girls, budding basketball stars, middle-aged dads, moms and even grandmothers. People who'd never paid attention to basketball.

Hedo, as his fans call him, brought them all together. And let's be clear: Getting just a couple of Turks to agree on one thing is hard enough. Getting hundreds of them to agree on coming to one place is a pretty big deal.

I know of what I speak. I am Turkish-Canadian too. The night really was the stuff of immigrant dreams.

Anyone who is from somewhere else knows that feeling of finding some kind of connection to the motherland. And if you're from a country that isn't too well known in your new, adopted home, any connection is amazing.

It could be finding that perfect restaurant that cooks your favourite dishes just like they do back home. It could be meeting a stranger who's from where you're from.

But when the connection is with one of the most coveted free agents in the NBA, and he picks your city, your team, in part because of your community's presence, it is really off the charts.

The chants of "Hedo! Hedo! Hedo!" drowned out pretty much everything else in the ACC. And there were plenty of chances to chant.

Big night for Turkoglu's fans

Turkoglu gave his fans what they wanted.

Seven assists and 14 points, including some of the three-pointers he's known for. The Raptors beat Indiana 123-112.

In-between the cheering, the chatter was all about how symbolic this was, how important it is that Hedo can show Canadians a little bit about what Turks are all about.

The Turks want more, though. They want Hedo to help the Raptors win the NBA championship too.

For that, the Turks in the stands told me, they can be patient. This night, Turkish Night with the Raptors, was the community's "tessekur" (thank you) to Turkoglu and the team that wooed him. Turkoglu had more than slam dunks to give them.

After the game was over, he came to the stands. With a shy smile, he said he was touched. And reminded them all:

"I came here for you."