There’s been no shortage of success for Canada in the NBA lately.
Led by rookie wonder R.J. Barrett, selected with the third-overall pick in the 2019 draft, the 16 Canadians in the league are already making history. For one, that’s the most-ever players from a country that’s not the U.S. in the NBA.
Added to that, are performances like the ones we saw last week from Andrew Wiggins and Dillon Brooks, who went off for 30 and 31 points, respectively, in what’s believed to be the first time two players from Canada had 30-point nights in the same game.
Here are the top-10 Canadians in the NBA right now and their marks (out of 10) so far in the season. Just for fun, we’ll call it the Naismith scale.
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R.J. Barrett – New York Knicks
11 GP | 16 PPG | 4.1 APG | 5.8 RPG | 41.0 FG%
If it wasn’t for Ja Morant’s otherworldly start with the Memphis Grizzlies, Barrett would look like the logical-yet-way-too-early pick for Rookie of the Year. After striking out in the off-season, the Knicks are 2-9 and looking like a garage band that somehow got a gig at Maddison Square Garden. But the 19-year-old is one of the few silver linings in New York this season.
Barrett has been logging heavy minutes at the two and three, including an eye-popping 40-minute outing in a loss to the Kings that drew criticism toward coach David Fizdale. The No. 3-overall pick has looked like he’s willing to carry that load, though.
He’s earned an 8.5/10 on the Naismith scale.
Jamal Murray – Denver Nuggets
10 GP | 18.7 PPG | 4.6 APG | 4.8 RPG | 44.6 FG%
It’s hard to believe Murray is only 22 years old.
The Nuggets guard showed immediate potential when he entered the league in 2016, and since then has stepped up as a first option on offence, and has become a cold-blooded closer. He has also silently improved his defensive contributions on the perimeter, making him the kind of all-around guard every team covets in today’s NBA.
The Nuggets have started the season on a tear, with a 7-3 record and fourth place in the Western Conference, and now that this core has acquired some playoff experience, Murray should be balling beyond just 82 games.
On a scale of Anthony Bennett to Steve Nash, Murray would definitely fall on the MVP-potential side. On the Naismith scale we’ll give him a 9/10.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
11 GP | 20.1 PPG | 3.1 APG | 5.8 RPG | 46.4 FG%
The airs of change have done wonders for Gilgeous-Alexander.
Shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder from the Los Angeles Clippers in the Paul George trade, Gilgeous-Alexander seems to have dodged the dreaded sophomore slump and improved his numbers in basically every statistical category, from his first to second year in the NBA, and looks poised to fill in the shoes of former MVP Russell Westbrook as the Thunder’s point guard of the future.
Much like Murray, the 21-year-old also started to show he has the tools to develop into an elite perimeter defender, currently sharing the backcourt with Chris Paul.
Gilgeous-Alexander will be a 9-plus when he peaks, but we’re not there yet. For now, he’s earned an 8.3/10.
Andrew Wiggins – Minnesota Timberwolves
11 GP | 25.9 PPG | 3.6 APG | 5.1 RPG | 47.8 FG%
Wiggins seems to have benefited greatly from Ryan Saunders’ ascendance to Timberwolves head coach.
The polarizing former No. 1-overall pick looks like a man who’s found himself after years of being criticized for not trying hard enough. This was perfectly illustrated by his 40-point, 17-of-33-shooting performance against the Golden State Warriors, pivotal in Minnesota’s overtime win.
Stepbacks by Andrew Wiggins (36 PTS)!
Watch OT: https://t.co/lZZApswzuX pic.twitter.com/Heghm8MoSq
— NBA (@NBA) November 9, 2019
Sometimes, all a player needs is a new system and a new leader. Wiggins has been instrumental in the Timberwolves’ 7-4 start, as the team tries to make its way back to the playoffs after a disappointing 11th-place finish last season.
Naismith scale: 8.8/10.
Tristan Thompson – Cleveland Cavaliers
10 GP | 16.5 PPG | 2.3 APG | 11.4 RPG | 54.2 FG%
If you Google Tristan Thompson’s name, you’re more likely to end up with a handful of TMZ links than basketball articles, but the 28-year-old has seen somewhat of a resurgence with the Cavaliers this season. He’s averaging five more minutes than he did the season before, and has jumped 10.9 points per game to 16.9 this year, along with over 11 boards per contest.
And then, he went ahead and did this in the 98-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Naismith scale: 8.0, minus 1.0 for that Carlton Banks move, minus 0.5 for his passive-aggressive Instagram comments, equals: 6.5/10.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker – New Orleans Pelicans
10 GP | 5.0 PPG | 2.4 APG | 2.0 RPG | 29.0 FG%
It may be tough to get a beam of the spotlight when it’s being hogged by the No. 1-overall pick of the draft.
Alexander-Walker was picked 17th by the Brooklyn Nets and was then instantly flipped, first to the Atlanta Hawks, then to the New Orleans Pelicans where he’d share the court with Zion Williamson.
The Canadian broke out in the Las Vegas Summer League, earning an all-star selection with an average of 24.3 points, 6.0 assists and 2.8 steals, but has yet to replicate the success in the regular season. Alexander-Walker has struggled from the floor — 29 per-cent shooting — in just 12 minutes per game with the 2-8 Pelicans, who currently sit dead last in the west.
Not the successful start his cousin, Gilgeous-Alexander, experienced, but there’s still time and definitely a lot of room for growth.
He earns a 7.2/10 on the Naismith scale.
Dwight Powell – Dallas Mavericks
7 GP | 9.0 PPG | 1.1 APG | 5.4 RPG | 63.4 FG%
Powell has been on an upward curve since making his belated season debut, racking up around 25 minutes per game and sharing the court with Mavericks phenom Luka Doncic in high-leverage moments.
The 28-year-old, who was battling a hamstring injury since the pre-season, was slowly brought back into action in Dallas’ fourth regular-season game — on Oct. 29 against the Nuggets. Currently in his sixth season with the Mavericks, Powell is hardly a first option offensively, but has become an important complementary piece on both ends of the floor.
Naismith scale: 7.2/10.
Brandon Clarke – Memphis Grizzlies
10 GP | 11.9 PPG | 1.1 APG | 6.5 RPG | 60.7 FG%
A Vancouver kid playing for the former Vancouver team has a ring of fate to it.
Clarke, taken with the 21st pick in the 2019 draft, played three years of college ball before making it to the NBA — at San Jose State and then Gonzaga. He has shown the potential of a defensive juggernaut with the Grizzlies, including a four-block game against the Houston Rockets earlier on Nov. 4.
Even more surprising was the forward’s breakout offensive performance in the win against the Timberwolves two days later, when he scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting, while adding eight rebounds to boot.
The 23-year-old may be a late bloomer, but he’s looking like the real deal.
Naismith scale: 6.8/10.
Kelly Olynyk – Miami Heat
10 GP | 7.6 PPG | 2.0 APG | 4.9 RPG | 36.8 FG%
Olynyk recovered from the knee injury that caused him to miss the FIBA Basketball World Cup in time for the Heat’s regular-season opener, but he’s still coming off the bench in the early season.
However, the 28-year-old has good chemistry with fellow Heat big man Bam Adebayo, so he could potentially snatch the starting role back from Meyers Leonard, especially if he can continue delivering performances like the one against the Nuggets on Nov. 5: 13 points and six rebounds on 50 per cent shooting.
Nasimith scale: 7.4/10, with room for growth should he make his way back to the starting five.
Dillon Brooks – Memphis Grizzlies
11 GP | 13.6 PPG | 2.2 APG | 3.8 RPG | 40.9 FG%
Another Canadian rookie sharing the spotlight with a highly-touted draft pick, Brooks has played somewhat of a secondary role with the Grizzlies as Ja Morant continues to make headlines.
But that didn’t stop him from putting together a 31-point night, including 10 straight in the fourth quarter, to give the Grizzlies the win over the Timberwolves on that historic night for Canadian basketball.
Brooks has the potential to be a solid contributor if given the chance — and the minutes.
He gets a 7/10 on the Naismith scale.
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