21 players from Canada are on NBA teams this season
The whole country is getting excited for the NBA season to get underway.
And while there was a point in time when professional basketball players hailing from Canada were few and far between, that isn’t the case anymore.
This past summer, 10 NBA players played in the Olympics for Canada, with each of them returning to the league this season.
As per the league, 21 players on opening-night rosters this year hail from Canada, including 2023-24 MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous Alexander.
While it’s not as many as the record 26 Canadian players on opening-night rosters a year ago, it’s still a pretty strong testament to the sport’s international growth.
Here’s a full list of the 21 players, as well as what teams they play for:
- Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
- Andrew Wiggins, Golden State Warriors
- Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers
- Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies
- Caleb Houstan, Orlando Magic
- Cory Joseph, Orlando Magic
- Dalano Banton, Portland Trail Blazers
- Dillon Brooks, Houston Rockets
- Dwight Powell, Dallas Mavericks
- Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
- Kelly Olynyk, Toronto Raptors
- Leonard Miller, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Dallas Mavericks
- RJ Barrett, Toronto Raptors
- Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Trey Lyles, Sacramento Kings
- Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies
Two other NBA players have strong ties to Canada. The Raptors’ Chris Boucher and the Washington Wizards’ Kyshawn George, were born in St. Lucia and Switzerland respectively, but each grew up in Montreal for parts of their childhood. While the NBA does not officially mark Boucher as Canadian, he has represented the country’s national team on multiple occasions.
The Raptors’ roster features six international players: Olynyk, Barrett, Boucher, Jakob Poeltl, Bruno Fernando, and Ulrich Chomche, which is tied for the third-most of any team in the league this season.
Toronto tips things off on their season on Wednesday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT.