![]() And few Canadians are better equipped to slow down the elite wings of the NBA than RJ Barrett, who at 6-foot-6, 214-pounds is developing into one of the stronger and more versatile and switchable defenders in the NBA. With the backcourt set, the Canadians need some defense and size at the small forward position. ![]() Murray will slowly work his way back into form as the season goes along, but if he re-establishes himself as one of the best young guards in the NBA by playoff time, his Denver Nuggets could legitimately win the championship.Ģ021-22 stats: 20.0ppg (51.1 TS%), 5.8rpg, 3apg, 0.6spg, 0.2bpgĪlso considered: Dillon Brooks, Oshae Brissett Murray is a wiz on and off the ball, with the ability to create for himself with his patented step-back three, the body contortion to finish round the rim, and a knack for hitting big, tough shots at the end of games. is returning this season after almost two years on the shelf due to a torn ACL in his left knee, but this is the same player who put up historically good numbers the last time he was in the playoffs, when he averaged 26.5 points and 6.6 assists on route to the conference finals in 2020-including scoring outburst of of 50, 42, and 50 points in the first-round series against the Utah Jazz, and who shot a career high 41 percent from three the next season. The 25-year-old combo-guard out of Kitchener, ON. Now, if he is able to play more than the 45.5 games he has averaged the last two seasons, while potentially seeing his three-point shot bounce back towards his 2020-21 average of 41.8 percent (after hitting just 30.0 percent last season), SGA is primed to make the first all-star team of his career.Ģ020-21 stats: 21.2ppg (59.2 TS%) 4rpg, 4.8apg, 1.3spg, 0.3bpgĪlso considered: Lu Dort, Nickeil Alexander-WalkerĪny good ball-handler needs good shooters around them, and Jamal Murray is the best shooter in Canada, slotting in nicely beside SGA in the starting backcourt for this exercise and, hopefully soon, for Team Canada. SGA is one of the most frequent and efficient drivers in the entire NBA because once he gets past his man, he has the body control to euro-step into the paint and the playmaking vision to spray out every pass in the book, even in the tight spaces that have become normal in OKC. The “hesi-God,” or stop-and-start master of the league, is an elite creator that keeps his defender guessing, baiting them with the hesitation dribble or step-back and either driving into the paint if they bite or simply taking the shot if they give him room. SGA is only getting better as he grows as the lead ball-handler on the Oklahoma City Thunder and Team Canada, where he is a master manipulator with an innate ability to control the game, never predetermining his actions and instead reading the defence at all levels before making his move. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the best Canadian basketball player in the world right now, so it shouldn’t be all that surprising to find the 24-year-old, Hamilton, Ont. Point guard: Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderĢ021-22 stats: 24.5ppg (55.7 TS%), 5rpg, 5.9apg, 1.3spg, 0.8bpgĪlso considered: Dalano Banton, Josh Primo ![]() And in order to get you prepped for the season, we created an All-Canadian Starting Five of the best NBA players from north of the border. It’s an exciting time for Canadians in the NBA. With Jamal Murray returning from injury and RJ Barrett finally playing alongside a real point guard, there are a number of Canadians primed to follow in Wiggins’ footsteps and breakout this season. And while the depth of Canadian talent is clearly better than ever, so is the nation’s top-end talent, with Andrew Wiggins making his first all-star team last season, becoming the first Canadian all-star since Steve Nash in 2012. This season, a record-high 28 Canadians found themselves on NBA training camp rosters, including the four rookies selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. The men’s national team won all of their qualification games for next summer’s world cup, while the women placed fourth in the 2022 FIBA World Cup, their best result in an international competition since 1986.īut with the summer coming to an end and NBA opening night here, it’s time we shift towards the best men’s basketball league on earth. It was a great summer for Canadian basketball.
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