Canada is currently the biggest provider of NBA players outside of the USA, with a total of 62 players from the country having a team in the 2023-24 season. They are followed by France, Serbia, Australia, Nigeria, and Croatia, with 47, 33, 31, 30, and 23, in that order.
More Canadian players are finding their way into the NBA year after year, showing that the infrastructure and resources across the country are perfectly suited to athletes who aspire to become stars in basketball. In this article, we take a look at some of the key Canadian NBA players and teams, while also touching on the national team!
How many NBA players are on the Canada team?
In total, the Canada team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris had 10 active NBA players, which made history as the most NBA players ever from a non-American roster. This record was previously held by Nigeria on 8. Here’s a look at all of the players that featured, alongside their respective NBA teams:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves)
- R.J. Barrett (Toronto Raptors)
- Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets)
- Luguentz Dort (Thunder)
- Trey Lyles (Sacramento Kings)
- Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers)
- Kelly Olynyk (Raptors)
- Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks)
Despite a huge number of Canadian Basketball Players in the NBA making up the team, they finished 5th after falling to the host nation, France, in a tight match that finished 82-73.
Has a Canadian ever won the NBA MVP?
A Canadian has indeed won the NBA MVP, with Steve Nash claiming the title as one of the best Canadian NBA players of all time. He was born in South Africa but raised in Canada. He made history by winning the Most Valuable Player award twice. He earned this honour during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons while playing for the Phoenix Suns.
Nash played as a point guard but since he retired from professional play in 2015, he has also proved to be a talented coach, with Brooklyn Nets being the most recent team to benefit from his services.
Did Canada have 2 NBA teams?
In the past, Canada did, in fact, have two teams in the National Basketball Association. This occurred in 1995 when both the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors were part of the league. The Grizzlies have since moved to Memphis. However, the Toronto Raptors are still an active team to this day!
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