Canada has dominated the NBA this season
Canada has seen an influx of top-tier basketball talent in recent memory, with two first-overall picks (casual Anthony Bennett mention), and, most recently, an MVP and Finals MVP thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Hamilton, Ontario.
The Toronto Raptors may be Canada’s only NBA team, but there’s a whole lot more to Canadian hoops than the Raptors. With approximately 21 Canucks currently on NBA rosters, let’s survey how they’re doing this season.
Kicking things off, the Oklahoma City Thunder currently have two well-known Canadians on their roster: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort. This season, Gilgeous Alexander is averaging 31.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.5 assists, with a split of 55.1 percent from the field (most efficient field goal shooting of his career), 38 percent from the three (which is the second-highest 3-point percentage of his career), and 88.1 percent from the free-throw line (third-highest of his career). He’s the favourite to repeat as MVP. Dort, who was born in Montreal, has seen a bit of an offensive dip this year. His points per game have dipped from 10.1 to 8.4, his offensive rebounding from 1.3 to 0.9, and his three-point percentage from 38.8 percent to 33.8 percent. Now defensively, he has largely been the same. He averages a similar 2.8 defensive rebounds per game compared to last year, and he gets 0.4 blocks and 0.9 steals per game, which, despite it being lower than last year, is on par with his career.
Now, let’s head to the all-important Raptors, where AJ Lawson and RJ Barrett are the only two Canadians on the roster. So far, both have dropped statistically since last year, but there is a plus side. Lawson’s 3-point percentage, field-goal percentage, and free-throw percentage have all risen, with Lawson significantly improving beyond the arc (45 percent compared to 32.7 percent) — statistically anyway. Barrett has a similar story; although ironically, his 3-point percentage dropped from 35 percent to 33.8 percent. That being said, he’s been just as impactful and on a far better team, so it’s easy to call this his best season as a Raptor.
Speaking of best career seasons for Canadian players, the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray has actually seen a pretty major jump this season. He returned to Bubble Murray form and joined the All-Star festivities as a result. Not only did he drop 53 against the Mavericks on March 25th, but he has also seen his scoring average jump from 21.4 to 25.6 points per game, his assists from 6.0 to 7.1 per game, and his rebounding from 3.9 to 4.4 per game. He also has a shooting split of 48/43/88, with all but one percentage (free throw percentage) improving compared to last season. If the Nuggets make noise in the playoffs, expect Murray to dominate there.
Moving on to the southern U.S., only the Memphis Grizzlies and the Atlanta Hawks have Canadian players. But there were some real bright spots. Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper are all suiting up for Memphis, while the Atlanta Hawks have Nickeil Alexander-Walker (cousin of SGA) and Caleb Houstan, who was on a two-way contract to start the year.
Edey, who is in his second season with the Grizzlies, has seen a major jump this season. He looked this year like he might be a future All Star. So far, he is averaging a double-double: 13.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. Most of his shooting splits have also improved, with both his field goal percentage (63.3 percent) and free-throw percentage (78.1) up compared to his rookie season. Edey also dropped a career-high 32 points against the Sacramento Kings on November 30. Before his injury, he was completely unstoppable in the paint, looking like a big against whom opponents simply can’t switch non-centers. Point to note: Edey will miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury. Brandon Clarke has also missed most of the season with a Calf injury, only playing two games.
Prosper’s first season with the Grizzlies has also been a success. Through 51 games, 22 of which are starts, Prosper has averaged 9.7 points per game (doubling his tally from last year), 3.5 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game. Prosper’s splits (54/39.9/76.4) have also improved compared to last year, with Prosper’s 3-point percentage getting close to doubling his total from 2025, when he was a Dallas Maverick. Prosper also dropped 31 points in a loss to the Rockets on March 27, which is a career-high. He looks like a real NBA-caliber rotation player in Memphis, which he hadn’t at any other point in his career.
Speaking of improvement on a new team, in his first season with the Hawks, Alexander-Walker is a favourite to win Most Improved Player of the Year this season. He jumped from a defensive specialist to a dominant lead guard. He has averaged 20.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, with splits of 45.4 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from three, and 90 percent from the line. These stats are a major increase over his previous career highs, Houston, who was also in his first season with the Hawks, just got placed on waivers. He was averaging 2.3 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists with splits of 53.8/52.4/100 through 18 games this season.
Shifting to the West Coast, the Portland Trail Blazers only sport Shaedon Sharpe on the full-time roster — and Sharpe has taken a significant jump. Through 48 games this season, Sharpe has put up 21.4 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and 2.6 assists per game, alongside a 31-point performance against the Wizards back in January. However, Sharpe is also out 4-6 weeks with a calf injury. But prior to the injury, he was looking like he is finally fulfilling his outrageous athletic potential.
After being traded to the Phoenix Suns in the offseason, Dillon Brooks has also seen a bump in stats this season. Despite breaking his left hand in late February, the 30-year-old guard has averaged 20.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He has also shot pretty much the same as in previous seasons, with his free-throw shooting (85.8 percent) showing the largest growth overall. But he’s scoring more, and for much of the season he was leading the NBA in efficiency out of isolation. Again: Another Canadian seeing a career season.
Going south, the Los Angeles Clippers have Jahmyl Telfort and Bennedict Mathurin. Telfort didn’t play (or do) much and was waived after only eight NBA games. Moving on to Mathurin, he has made a significant step towards fulfilling his potential (like Sharpe) as a wildly athletic wing (also like Sharpe). Since being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, he has averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game this season. And there’s room for even more growth, as he shot much better from three while with Indiana (37.2 percent) compared to with LA (21.1 percent). Mathurin also tied his career high this season, dropping 38 points in a win against the Denver Nuggets.
Speaking of Indiana, the Pacers currently have Andrew Nembhard on the roster. A starting guard for the team, Nembhard has played in 57 games this season. Nembhard has averaged 16.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game this season despite currently being sidelined with a back injury. Despite that, Nembhard has had multiple 30-point games this season, dropping 32 points in a loss to the Cavaliers and 31 points in a loss to the Knicks. Interestingly, he also dropped 19 assists, a career high, in a 7-point loss to the Lakers. Though Nembhard wasn’t able to lift Indiana out of the basement with Tyrese Haliburton injured, it looks like he’ll be ready to be on a star-in-his-role again beside Haliburton next year when the Pacers presumably return to championship-contending status.
Let’s head to the state of Texas. The Dallas Mavericks have Ryan Nembhard and Dwight Powell. Down in San Antonio, the Spurs only have former Toronto Raptor Kelly Olynyk on the active roster. Most of these players are currently in bench roles, with Kelly Olynyk setting career-low numbers as his career seems to wind down. Interestingly, Ryan Nembhard is currently in his rookie season and dropped a career-high 28 points in a win against the Denver Nuggets in early December.
Overall, Canada has dominated the NBA this season. Canadians will almost certainly take home some hardware when the season ends, with Gilgeous-Alexander the favourite to win another MVP, but also with Alexander-Walker a favourite for Most Improved Player of the Year. Put them all together on one roster, and it’s winning the championship. To that point: Only two more years until these guys compete together on the big stage in the Olympics once again.
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