By Canadian Press

Record of 22 Canadians on opening-night rosters as NBA season tips off

Oct 18, 2022 | 10:15 AM

A record of 22 Canadians will be on opening-night rosters in the NBA, which tips off the 2022-23 season on Tuesday.

The influx of talent from north of the border is not new to the NBA. Over the years, Canadian players have continuously made their way through the NCAA and onto the league rosters.

However, the impact of Canadian talent has risen, along with the level of blue-chip talent entering the NBA.

Andrew Wiggins headlines the group fresh off an NBA title win with the Golden State Warriors. Wiggins, 27, made his first all-star team last season as one of the best two-way players in the league.

His effort on both ends of the floor made him a vital piece for the Warriors and led to the team rewarding him with a four-year, US$109 million extension.

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Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray will be making his long-awaited return after a torn ACL kept him out of action all of last season. The Kitchener, Ont., native, who was already a key piece to the Nuggets, made his biggest mark when the NBA opted to play in a bubble due to the pandemic late in the 2019-20 season.

Murray’s theatrics and heroics in the post-season led Denver all the way to the Western Conference finals where the team fell to eventual champion the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rookie Bennedict Mathurin is among the more exciting young Canadian players entering this season with immense potential. The Montreal native was the sixth overall pick of the 2022 draft by the Indiana Pacers.

Mathurin, 20, entered the league having been a consensus second-team all-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year in his sophomore year at Arizona. In four pre-season outings with the Pacers, the six-foot-five, 210-pound guard has averaged 19.8 points in just 23.5 minutes a night.

Canadians on NBA rosters:

Mfiondu Kabengele*, Boston Celtics; Dwight Powell, Dallas Mavericks; Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets; Cory Joseph, Detroit Pistons; Andrew Wiggins, Golden State Warriors; Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers; Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers; Oshae Brissett, Indiana Pacers; Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies; Dillon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies; RJ Barrett, New York Knicks; Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder; Caleb Houstan, Orlando Magic; Shaedon Sharpe. Portland Trail Blazers; Trey Lyles, Sacramento Kings; Josh Primo, San Antonio Spurs; Dalano Banton, Toronto Raptors; Khem Birch, Toronto Raptors; Kelly Olynyk, Utah Jazz; Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Utah Jazz; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder; Eugene Omoruyi*, Oklahoma City Thunder.

* — Indicates player being on a two-way contract.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2022.

The Canadian Press