NBA Draft: Modern day history of Canadians in the NBA Draft

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Since the NBA Draft went to two rounds in 1989, there have been 33 Canadians selected in the annual entry draft.

There has been at least one Canadian player selected in 10 of the past 11 drafts, with a record six players selected in 2019.

First-round selections

In 2011, Tristan Thompson became the first-ever Canadian player to be a lottery selection when he was selected fourth by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since Thompson's selection in 2011, there have been nine other lottery picks from Canada.

The Cavaliers again made history in 2013 by selecting Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick. Bennett is the first-ever Canadian to be selected with the No. 1 draft pick.

anthony-bennett-david-stern-2013-draft-ftr

In 2014, Cleveland won the draft lottery again and used the No. 1 overall pick to select forward Andrew Wiggins.

The most recent Canadian player to be taken with a lottery pick is RJ Barrett, who was selected 3rd overall by the New York Knicks in the 2019 NBA Draft. He was one of four Canadians selected in the first round and six total – both records for Canada and non-US born players.

Best rookie seasons

Six Canadians have earned NBA All-Rookie honours with their first-year performance.

By averaging 8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 1992, Rick Fox became the first to earn such honours. Fox was followed by Thompson in 2012, Kelly Olynyk in 2014, Wiggins in 2015 and Murray in 2017.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the most recent Canadian to earn All-Rookie honours, doing so in 2019.

Of the six All-Rookie performers, Wiggins is the lone player to be named to the First Team. He was also named the 2015 Rookie of the Year, averaging 16.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his first season.

andrew-wiggins-2015-roy-051518-ftr

Canadians selected in the NBA Draft since 1989

Year Player Pick Team
1991 Rick Fox 1st round, 24th overall Boston Celtics
1994 Will Njoku 2nd round, 41st overall Indiana Pacers
1996 Steve Nash 1st round, 15th overall Phoenix Suns
1999 Todd MacCulloch 2nd round, 47th overall Philadelphia 76ers
2000 Jamaal Magloire 1st round, 19th overall Charlotte Hornets
2001 Samuel Dalembert 1st round, 26th overall Philadelphia 76ers
2006 Denham Brown 2nd round, 40th overall Seattle Supersonics
2010 Andy Rautins 2nd round, 38th overall New York Knicks
2011 Tristan Thompson 1st round, 4th overall Cleveland Cavaliers
2011 Cory Joseph 1st round, 29th overall San Antonio Spurs
2012 Andrew Nicholson 1st round, 19th overall Orlando Magic
2012 Kris Joseph 2nd round, 51st overall Boston Celtics
2012 Robert Sacré 2nd round, 60th overall Los Angeles Lakers
2013 Anthony Bennett 1st round, 1st overall Cleveland Cavaliers
2013 Kelly Olynyk 1st round, 13th overall Dallas Mavericks*
2014 Andrew Wiggins 1st round, 1st overall Cleveland Cavaliers
2014 Nik Stauskas 1st round, 8th overall Sacramento Kings
2014 Tyler Ennis 1st round, 18th overall Phoenix Suns
2014 Dwight Powell 2nd round, 45th overall Charlotte Hornets
2015 Trey Lyles 1st round, 12th overall Utah Jazz
2015 Olivier Hanlan 2nd round, 45th overall Utah Jazz
2016 Jamal Murray 1st round, 7th overall Denver Nuggets
2017 Dillon Brooks 2nd round, 45th overall Houston Rockets
2018 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 1st round, 11th overall Charlotte Hornets
2018 Justin Jackson 2nd round, 43rd overall Denver Nuggets
2019 RJ Barrett 1st round, 3rd overall New York Knicks
2019 Nickeil Alexander-Walker 1st round, 17th overall Brooklyn Nets
2019 Brandon Clarke 1st round, 21st overall Oklahoma City Thunder
2019 Mfiondu Kabengele 1st round, 27th overall Brooklyn Nets
2019 Ignas Brazdeikis 2nd round, 47th overall Sacramento Kings
2019 Marial Shayok 2nd round, 54th overall Philadelphia 76ers
2021 Joshua Primo 1st round, 12th overall San Antonio Spurs
2021 Dalano Banton 2nd round, 46th overall Toronto Raptors

Other Notable Canadian Draft picks since 1980

#BillWen

Year Player Pick Team
1980 Perry Mirkovich 6th round, 125 overall Portland Trail Blazers
1981 Jay Triano 8th round, 179 overall Los Angeles Lakers
1981 Mike Brkovich 8th round, 181 overall Milwaukee Bucks
1982 David Coulthard 10th round, 214 overall Detroit Pistons
1983 Leo Rautins 1st round, 17th overall Philadelphia 76ers
1983 Stewart Granger 1st round, 24th overall Cleveland Cavaliers
1983 Ron Crevier 4th round, 75 pick Chicago Bulls
1983 Tony Simms 6th round, 128 pick New York Knicks
1983 Gerald (Joe) Kazanowski 7th round, 146 pick Utah Jazz
1984 Greg Wiltjer 2nd round, 43 overall Chicago Bulls
1984 Karl Tilleman 4th round, 79 overall Denver Nuggets
1984 Eli Pasquale 5th round, 106 pick Seattle SuperSonics
1985 Bill Wennington 1st round, 16th pick Dallas Mavericks
1985 Mike Smrek 2nd round, 25th pick Portland Trail Blazers
1985 Dan Meagher 6th round, 126 pick Chicago Bulls
1986 Barry Mungar 4th round, 82 pick Washington Bullets

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Gilbert McGregor is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.