Back
Most Influential Canadian NBA Players of All Time | LeoVegas

Canadian NBA Players

Contested predominantly south of the border, the NBA has long been the most prestigious domestic basketball competition in the world. Padded with stacks of cash, it took until 1995 for Canada to finally get a team in the league, but long before that, a select few top talents managed to barge into the NBA and make some noise.

Table of Content:

Here, you’ll find a whole host of the most influential Canadian NBA players to ever lace up for the court, as well as players who are now the most famous Canadians playing in the NBA.

Steve Nash

Steve Nash is the most legendary Canadian NBA player of all time. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa to British parents, he came to Saskatchewan before his second birthday. He made his claim to the NBA scouts for the Santa Clara Broncos, who have since retired his No. 11 jersey and was later taken 15th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft.

Nash had relatively little impact with the Phoenix Suns, but once he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, he took the league by storm. He would return to the Suns to vindicate his 1996 selection and ended his career with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015.

During his career, Nash amassed two NBA MVP awards – both during his second stint with the Suns (who also retired his No. 13 jersey) – as well as eight NBA All-Star call-ups. To this day, he’s regarded as one of the greatest point guards the league has ever seen, particularly for his uncanny ability to score from midrange and the three.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might very well go down as one of the best Charlotte Hornets players to have never played for the team, being traded the same night that he was picked 11th overall in 2018. He landed with the Los Angeles Clippers but was traded again in 2019 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Here, the Canadian NBA player made a home and has developed into one of the most formidable guards in the modern game. Standing 6' 6” from Toronto, Ontario, Gilgeous-Alexander is now a two-time All-Star (2023 and 2024) and is the only true contender to Nikola Jokić’s claim for the NBA MVP Award.

The All-Star even managed to emulate an extraordinary feat last achieved by Steve Nash. Gilgeous-Alexander was deemed worthy of the Northern Star Award and the Lionel Conacher Award, making him both Canada’s and the Canadian Press’s male athlete of the year. Nash was the last and first basketball player to get these awards.

Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray is the latest Canadian basketball player to join the NBA winners’ club, going all the way with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. A former 7th overall pick born in Kitchener, Ontario, the 6 '4'’ point guard came back from a year out due to an ACL tear to be pivotal in Denver’s charge to the title.

En route to the NBA Championship, Murray amassed his fifth and franchise record-breaking 40-point game and then became the first ever NBA player to average 30 points shooting 50/40/90 in the Conference Finals. To accompany his trophy, the prolific scorer also moved alongside Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James as the only NBA players to average 20 points and 10 assists or more – a line in which Murray added 6.2 rebounds.

His chemistry with Jokić on the court has the makings of a Championship-winning duo on its own and is a huge reason why the Nuggets are back in the mix in 2024. Only the Boston Celtics lead the Nuggets in the NBA Championship odds.

Andrew Wiggins

In the 2014 NBA Draft, Andrew Wiggins became only the second-ever player from Canada to be taken first overall. Incidentally, the first Canadian NBA player to go at the top of the board was Anthony Bennett, who was also picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Wiggins didn’t remain a Cav for long, and neither did Bennett, as the duo were shipped out to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rising to prominence as one of the most reliable and deadliest shooters in the league, the Golden State Warriors put up three players to acquire his services in 2020.

In 2022, Wiggins was named an All-Star and won the title. During that title-winning campaign, Wiggins firmly asserted himself as the second-best player on the team, deploying his potent dribbling drives often to catch out opponents. Alongside his fellow superstars, Wiggins enables the Warriors to remain dark horses for the Western Conference title.

Rick Fox

Rick Fox is one of those star Canadian NBA players who not only found great success on the court but managed to transcend the sport itself. A pop-culture icon, Fox relayed his charisma into the world of acting, showing up in productions like One Tree Hill, He Got Game, Sharknado, Ugly Betty, Meet the Browns, and many more.

Fox was taken 24th overall by the Boston Celtics in 1991, and while he performed very well in Beantown for six seasons, he truly came into his own when he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. Here, he transformed from a quality scorer to a physical presence.

Fox would play hard and put in the dirty work needed to allow the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant to excel. That said, he still managed to also put up solid scoring numbers, including his 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals line in the 2002 NBA Finals. One of the best sixth men in NBA history, the Canadian was pivotal to the Lakers’ treble from 2000 to 2002.

Dillon Brooks

Standing 6’6’’ and weighing in at 225lbs, Dillon Brooks certainly has the athleticism to throw his weight around – and he does! Selected by the Houston Rockets 45th overall (in the second round) in the 2017 NBA Draft, he’s earned a reputation in the league as one of the most despised players to come up against.

He didn’t commence his NBA career with the Rockets, being immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on draft night, but it was with the Grizzlies that he established himself as a no-nonsense, outspoken, and incredibly physical presence. For Canada, at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, he was named the Best Defensive Player en route to claiming bronze for his country.

RJ Barrett

RJ Barrett emerged from his 2018 class of prospects as a five-star recruit, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and the first since LeBron James to win the national championship alongside all of the major high school awards. Simply put: Barrett has an inordinate amount of potential.

Hailing from Toronto, Barrett was picked third overall in the absurdly-stacked 2019 NBA Draft, only behind Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. For the New York Knicks, he became the youngest player to average 20 points in a season, still only being 21 years old in the 2021/22 season.

After signing a massive $120 million, four-year deal over the summer, the Toronto Raptors swooped in with a huge trade offer to bring the hometown small forward back to Canada to form the core of the rebuild alongside Scottie Barnes.

Luguentz Dort

There’s a case to be made for Luguentz Dort being among the NBA’s best two-way players. Born in Montréal, he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school in Canada, and was named Freshman of the Year in the Pac-12, but went undrafted in 2019.

The Oklahoma City Thunder picked him up, taking their time to develop the raw Canadian talent with Oklahoma City Blue. His efforts, when called up during the 2019/20 season, landed him a four-year contract in 2020 worth $5.4 million. In 2022, he was awarded a five-year, $87.5 million deal, perfectly showcasing his rapid ascent in the NBA.

Kelly Olynyk

Kelly Olynyk didn’t exactly enjoy a soaring rise to the top. He enjoyed a stellar high school run, but for Gonzaga, over four years, the lanky Canadian was only a starter in his fourth year – even opting to redshirt in his third year. Still, he improved enough in that final year to be eligible for the 2013 NBA Draft and get taken 13th overall by the Dallas Mavericks.

From there, he was a draft night swap to the now Eastern Conference favourites, the Celtics. Next, the Canadian NBA player went to the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, and Utah Jazz starting the 2023/24 season. Essentially a journeyman, Olynyk has always performed well and is sought after as a specialist big man.

Clearly on a mission to bring top Canadian talents home, Olynyk, of Toronto, was also traded for by the Raptors. The towering 6 '11” center, alongside Ochai Agbsji, was brought in for Otto Porter Jr and Kira Lewis and was a first-round pick in 2024.

Chris Boucher

He certainly had to come into the NBA the hard way, but Saint Lucian-born Canadian Chris Boucher also stands as one of the most decorated players from Canada. Due to suffering a torn ACL in his final season of college basketball, he went undrafted in 2017. Luckily, the Golden State Warriors saw enough to sign him up.

On a two-way deal, he battled it out in the NBA G League and got his only call-up on March 14, 2018. The Golden State Warriors won the title that season, with Boucher getting a ring for playing one minute for one rebound with the Warriors. He was waived and then signed with the Toronto Raptors in 2018.

That season, the Canadian continued to ball in the G League, earning the Most Valuable Player award for the 2018/19 campaign. In February 2019, he got an NBA contract and joined the Raptors team on their rampage to the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Warriors for Canada’s sole NBA Championship to date. Still, with the Raptors, Boucher is the last of Toronto’s title-winning team left on the roster.

FAQ

Who is Canada’s only NBA team?

Canada’s only NBA team is the Toronto Raptors, based out of Toronto, Ontario. From 1995 to 2001, Canada had a second team, the Vancouver Grizzlies, but they moved to Memphis, Tennessee.

How many NBA players are Canadian?

The 2023/24 NBA season opened with 27 active Canadian players who were either born, raised, or born and raised north of the border. The likes of Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Olynyk, Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chris Boucher, and RJ Barrett feature most prominently. In the NBA’s history, over 60 Canadians have featured.

Who are the four Canadian NBA All-Stars?

The four Canadian NBA All-Stars to date are Steve Nash (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012), Jamaal Magloire (2004), Andrew Wiggins (2022), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2023).

How many Canadians have won an NBA title?

With Jamal Murray landing the NBA Championship in 2023, nine Canadians have now won an NBA title. The other winners – most of whom are multiple winners of the NBA’s top prize – are Mike Smrek, Bill Wennington, Rick Fox, Joel Anthony, Cory Joseph, Tristan Thompson, Chris Boucher, and Andrew Wiggins. The nine share 16 rings between them.

Did Canada have two NBA teams?

Canada used to have two NBA teams. Both the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies were established in 1995, but the Vancouver franchise was sold and moved to Memphis, Tennessee in time for the 2001/02 campaign.

Who was the first Canadian NBA MVP?

Steven Nash was the first Canadian to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, claiming his first in 2005 as a member of the Phoenix Suns, and getting another in 2006.

Who were the first two Canadians to become NBA All-Stars?

The first two Canadian players to become NBA All-Stars were Steve Nash and Jamaal Magloire. At the time of his call-up, Nash was tearing it up for the Dallas Mavericks in 2002, earning his first of what would be eight All-Star showings. Magloire got the call in 2004 via the New Orleans Hornets and led the Eastern team in scoring on that night.

Who was the first black Canadian in the NBA?

Stewart Granger was the first black Canadian basketball player to be drafted by an NBA team and play in the league. He went 24th overall in the 1983 NBA Draft at a time when all Canadians were struggling to break into the league. Rick Fox was the first black Canadian basketball player to win the NBA Championship.

What were the first two famous Canadian teams to play in the NBA?

The first two famous Canadian teams to play in the NBA were the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. Both commenced play in 1995, but only one remains in Canada – the Toronto Raptors.

Which Canadian team moved to the US years ago in the NBA?

The Canadian team that moved to the US years ago in the NBA was the Vancouver Grizzlies, now the Memphis Grizzlies. When in Vancouver, their second overall pick of the 1999 draft, Steve Francis, refused to play and was traded. The franchise lost money due to the weaker Canadian dollar, and was eventually sold in 2001, moving to Tennessee where the Vancouver Grizzlies became the Memphis Grizzlies.

Who was the first Canadian to win a ring in the NBA?

Mike Smrek was the first Canadian to win a ring for winning an NBA Championship in 1987. He achieved this feat with the Los Angeles Lakers and repeated the title win in 1988.

Learn more about NBA in our guides