It’s no secret. Basketball stars are emerging out of Canada, and fast. Canadian ballers have been in and out of the NBA and other high profile basketball leagues for many decades. Very few have been considered great. Greatness in Canadian basketball can only be illustrated by one name, Steve Nash. But a group of young men have surfaced, who might be able to follow in his footsteps.
Let’s look at the past three NBA drafts.
2011 was a big year for international players, 5 out of the first 7 picks were players that were born outside the United States. (Enes Kanter: Turkey, Tristan Thompson: Canada, Jonas Valanciunas: Lithuania, Jan Vesley: Czech Republic, Bismack Byombo: DR Congo)
Let’s talk a little about the Canadians in the draft, firstly Tristan Thompson, out of Brampton, Ontario. He was considered to be over-hyped on draft-day. Thompson showed that even though he is undersized, he can be a double-double machine. At the time he was the highest ever drafted Canadian, at 4th overall. Drafted 29th was Corey Joseph of Ajax. Being selected by the San Antonio Spurs speaks volumes of his basketball IQ, skill, and character. After winning it all last week, the Spurs are arguably the best basketball team of the past 15 years.
On to 2012…
Two very talented Canadian bigs were selected in the draft. Andrew Nicholson of Mississauga drafted 19th overall by the Orlando Magic. And Robert Sacre from North Vancouver, taken 60th overall by the LA Lakers. Though these might not be the highest profile names, both these players spent all four years in college, adding to their overall value as professional players.
June 27th 2013
I think this was the date that made basketball fans realize what was happening within the Canadian borders. This day was the first time 2 Canadians were drafted in the lottery (first 14 picks). Anthony Bennett’s name was called for 1st overall, surprising most basketball pundits. Kelly Olynyk was selected 13th by the Dallas Mavericks (later traded to the Boston Celtics). These two are very young and have high expectations, and ceilings. Bennett was considered one of the most diverse forwards in the class, after spending one year at UNLV. He has yet to make a big impact, but has shown flashes of promise. Olynyk has a complex offensive arsenal for a center, and has even drawn comparison to Dirk Nowitzki.
This all culminates to the 2014 draft, being held on Thursday June 26th. This time three Canadians are projected to be lottery picks on many mock drafts. Tune in to find out. I will drop another post on what I think is the reason behind this recent surge of talent.
Thanks for reading,
92dt
Quick Quote
Sport is a preserver of health. -Hippocrates
- “2011 NBA Draft Results Round 1”. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- “2011 NBA Draft Results Round 2”. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- “2012 NBA Draft Results Round 1”. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- “2012 NBA Draft Results Round 2”. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- “2013 NBA Draft Results Round 1”. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- “2013 NBA Draft Results Round 2″. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
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