It was a historic night for Canadian basketball during Thursday’s NBA Draft.
A record six Canadians were taken during the event with four selections in the first round — another milestone.
But while R.J. Barrett, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Brandon Clarke, Mfiondu Kabengele, Ignas Brazdeikis and Mariol Shayok all appear to have found a clear path to making their ultimate hoop dreams come true, some of the other Canadians who were hoping to have their names called out at Barclays Center will have to tread a tougher road.
Lugentz Dort, Simi Shittu, Oshae Brissett, Lindell Wigginton and Kyle Alexander are five known Canadian players who will attempt to route a way to the world’s greatest basketball league by first getting exposure in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League.
As reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony immediately after the draft concluded, Dort will sign a two-way deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder and then, on Friday, he revealed that Shittu, Brissett, Wigginton and Alexander all got Summer League invites.
In Dort’s case, a Montreal native who played one season at Arizona State, his lane will look a little different from the others because in addition to Summer League play he’ll have a prime opportunity to prove himself NBA-worthy as he gets developmental reps in the G League.
Still, even though those four other players didn’t end up with a deal as good as Dort’s, the fact that they’ll be in Vegas in front of NBA eyes makes it hard to see any negatives in these situations. Particularly for Shittu, a Vanderbilt freshman power forward from Burlington, Ont., who had a rough freshman season as he appeared to be recovering from an ACL tear in Jan. 2018, an injury that likely prevented him from fully showcasing his true talents in college.
Could he have benefitted from returning to school? Perhaps, but that’s a moot point now and all he can hope to do is show himself off well enough with the Memphis Grizzlies’ Summer League squad while picking up key advice from NBA coaches and talent evaluators.
Adversity introduces a man to himself… they're gonna remember me
— Simi Shittu (@LanX_Sims) June 21, 2019
The same can be said of Brissett – just swap Memphis with the Los Angeles Clippers – while Alexander, a senior graduate, may as well go out there and test the waters to see if he actually is NBA-capable with the Miami Heat.
As for Wigginton, he’s in a similar boat as Shittu and Brissett, but the fact that he will be with the Toronto Raptors during Summer League makes his situation a little more unique.
A Dartmouth, N.S., native who played two seasons at Iowa State before declaring for the draft, Wigginton has the potential to be the first Canadian-born player to be part of the team since Cory Joseph departed after being in Toronto from 2015-2017.
As they proved with their championship run, the Raptors are willing to risk a lot of things to try to win and appear only interested in acquiring talent that will help them do just that. However, having just won it all and, in the process, captured the imagination of the entire country, it would be a nice act of good faith to get another Canadian on the roster – especially a young player who would be just entering the league.
— Lindell Wigginton (@Lwigginton5) June 21, 2019
The Raptors are now so much bigger than just Toronto, and while the organization has done a good job of ensuring Canadian talent gets a shot on Raptors 905, their G League affiliate, it simply isn’t the same.
This isn’t to say that Wigginton should just walk onto the team, of course. He’ll need to earn it, and that’s also why this Summer League invite is so exciting. He’s a guy who’s managed to overcome every hurdle set in front of him if given the chance.
The opportunity will be there for him in Vegas, and he should have no problem betting on himself.
It’s a very good time for Canadian basketball, and no matter if you’re a drafted player getting ready for the season to come or still trying to prove yourself worthy of the NBA, this year’s Summer League will be considered yet another high-water mark for Canadian hoops.
[relatedlinks]
