Image via Getty/Sarah Stier
The NBA has always been an American institution. With 29 out of 30 teams based in the United States along with a population of 333 million and significant funding at the AAU, high school, prep, and collegiate levels, it’s not all that surprising that Americans have dominated the league since its inception.
That’s not to say that there haven’t been foreign players who made their mark on the league: Canada’s own Steve Nash won back-to-back MVPs, for example, and Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic are all foreign-born MVP-level players right now. But rarely in the history of the NBA has a nation outside of the United States produced a group of players so compelling that they couldn’t be ignored, which is exactly what is happening with Canada’s NBA talent right now.
Canada will have the most players in the NBA outside of the United States for the eighth consecutive season, with 25 rostered heading in 2021-22, up from 17 last season. Some of them have legitimate superstar upside, others are going to have increased roles and could have breakout seasons, while others are just entering the league and trying to find their place in it. Here are eight Canadians to watch during the 2021-22 NBA season.
RJ Barrett
2020-21 Stats: 17.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 40.1 FG3%
Barrett was a major reason that the New York Knicks were able to take a major step forward last season and claim the No. 4 seed in the East, shooting a much-improved 40.1 percent on 4.3 three-pointers per game after rebuilding his jumper in the offseason. He also regularly defended the best perimeter player on the opposing team, helping the Knicks achieve the fourth-best defensive rating in the league. Plus, him and Andrew Wiggins were Team Canada’s best players in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament this summer, with Barrett seamlessly translating his physical two-way game to the international stage.
Now, Barrett will be asked to do even more on the defensive end after the Knicks let go of defensive-minded players in favour of offensive ones this offseason, hoping that he will become the type of difference-making wing-stopper that championship-caliber teams covet. With more playmaking around him in the form of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, the Knicks should be able to take advantage of Barrett’s slashing ability, and he should have even more room to fire away from distance, potentially increasing his three-point rate. It remains to be seen how many opportunities the 21-year-old Barrett will have to showcase his budding off-the-dribble game this season, but if he is able to more effectively drive with his right hand so as to not be as easily schemed against, watch out for a breakout season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
2020-21 Stats: 20.7 PPG, 4.7 RBG, 5.9 APG, 62.3 TS%
The Black Steve Nash is coming off a breakout campaign as a highly efficient No. 1 option with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but people still don’t seem to understand just how talented the 23-year-old Canadian is.
After a season under the helm of future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, Gilgeous-Alexander was handed the keys to the Thunder franchise and led them to a better-than-expected record of 15-21 by last season’s All-Star break before being sidelined with a plantar fasciitis injury. The Thunder held him out for the remainder of the season to be safe, but Gilgeous-Alexander signed a 5-year, $173M contract to stay in Oklahoma City for the foreseeable future.
SGA is a truly special point guard with the shiftiness to get past his man on the perimeter, the acceleration to get to the rim in a couple quick steps, and the length and touch to finish from all angles, shooting 61 percent at the rim last season. What stands out about Gilgeous-Alexander is that, after developing a reliable jump shot last season, he can get pretty much any shot he wants regardless of the defender, scoring in the 71st percentile in isolation possessions and in the 93rd percentile as the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll last season, with only James Harden and Steph Curry being more efficient than him on roughly the same volume. He will need to keep up his three-point rate (41.8 percent), cut down on his turnovers (3.0 per game), and play a little more defense this season, but with more talent around him and fellow Canadian Jamal Murray out for most of the regular season with a torn ACL, Gilgeous-Alexander has the opportunity to claim the mantle as the best Canadian in the world.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
2020-21 Stats: 11.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 34.7 FG3%
After an up and down first two seasons with New Orleans Pelicans, Alexander-Walker is one of the biggest swing players in the league heading into 2021-22. With Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe out the door and incoming head coach Willie Reed needing to fix a team in turmoil, Alexander-Walker should have an increased role on both ends of the floor and an opportunity to earn a spot in the starting lineup.
Similar to his cousin SGA, Alexander-Walker is a shifty combo-guard with the length to finish around the rim and earn a steal per game on the defensive end last season. But he is yet to find consistency at the NBA level, with his three-point shot and defensive awareness coming and going. Part of that had to do with the disjointed Pelicans teams around him, where Alexander-Walker has been in and out of the rotation for two seasons. But there is room for optimism, including his international experience this summer, where Alexander-Walker was impressive for Team Canada as head coach Nick Nurse’s most reliable scoring option off the bench, as well as his numbers in 13 games as a starter with the Pelicans last season, where Alexander-Walker averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while knocking down a highly efficient 41.2 percent of his 7.5 three pointers per game. The Pelicans will hope that Alexander-Walker can approximate those numbers over the course of the regular season while consistently defending the best perimeter players on the opposing team, which would make for a breakout season for the 23-year-old.
Dalano Banton
2020-21 College Stats: 9.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.9 APG, 49.5 TS%
Banton was selected 46th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Nebraska, the first Canadian to ever be drafted by the Toronto Raptors, his hometown team. While second-round picks are not generally expected to do much in their first NBA season, Banton turned a lot of heads in NBA Summer League and earned himself a fully-guaranteed contract with the Raptors, using his 6-foot-9 frame and plus-wingspan to wreak havoc on the defensive end, snare rebounds, and thread passes that very few rookies are capable of. While Banton will likely start his season in the G League with the Raptors 905 as their lead point guard, working on his ball-handling and outside shot (he went 0-12 from three in Summer League), don’t be surprised to see him get the call up to the Raptors in December after the inaugural Showcase Cup, bringing a new level of playmaking to a Raptors team that could use his creativity.
Dillon Brooks
2020-21 Stats: 17.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 34.4 FG3%
If you want to talk about being locked in on defense and locking down the best perimeter players on a nightly basis, look no further than Mississauga-native Dillon Brooks, who capped off the best season of his career in 2020-21 by averaging 25.8 points per game on 52/40/81 shooting splits in his first playoff series.
After proving himself on the NBA’s biggest stage, the 25-year-old Brooks should get an opportunity to show whether or not he can be more than a hardworking role player for the Memphis Grizzlies. And while it will also be interesting to watch fellow Canadian teammate Brandon Clarke try to bounce back from an epic sophomore slump, Brooks is the one who showed flashes of star upside, and that’s worth keeping a close eye on. Brooks should have more on-ball responsibilities and will want to see his playmaking numbers improve from averaging just 2.3 assists and 1.8 turnovers per game last season. If he can get his teammates involved when Ja Morant is on the bench, and continue to provide secondary scoring when Morant is on the floor, Brooks should be able to cement himself as a core player with the Grizzlies for a long time.
Khem Birch
2020-21 Stats: 7.2 PPG, 5.8 RBG, 1.3 APG, 55.2 TS%
Birch might not be the sexiest name on this list, but he will have a lot of responsibility if Toronto Raptors want to bounce back from their disastrous 2020-21 campaign.
The Monteal-native enters the season as the de facto starting center for the Raptors after averaging 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists on 59.6 true shooting percentage in 17 games with the Raptors last season after signing with the team following a buyout with the Orlando Magic. It was enough to earn Birch a 3-year, $20M contract to stay with the team he grew up rooting for.
While fellow Quebecois teammate Chris Boucher already had his breakout campaign last season—though he too will have added responsibility to start the season with Pascal Siakam out due to injury—Birch is still relatively unproven as a starting center at this point in his career. And while he flashed legitimate upside with as a rim-runner, a playmaker, and a willing three-point shooter in his 17 games with the Raptors—not to mention being a mobile defensive anchor that fits the Raptors’ hyper-aggressive scheme—he will need to carry that level of play forward on a consistent basis if the Raptors want to bounce back this season, especially considering that Birch is the only player listed as a center on the entire Raptors roster. If Birch turns out to be a reliable starting center, the Raptors should be in good shape. If not, the team will have to rely on small-ball once again.
Josh Primo
2020-21 College Stats: 8.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.8 APG, 56.5 TS%
Primo was the youngest player in college basketball (NCAA Division 1) last season and, after being selected 12th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2021 Draft, he became one of the youngest Canadians to ever be drafted into the NBA.
The 18-year-old point guard from Mississauga, Ontario was named to the SEC All-Freshman First-Team last season after averaging 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc in his freshman season at Alabama. His draft stock rose tremendously during the pre-draft process, with teams getting a chance to see a budding off-the-dribble game that he rarely got to showcase on a veteran Alabama squad. Now, the 6-foot-6 Primo will have a chance to grow on a young Spurs team led by legendary head coach Greg Popovich, likely getting thrown into the fire right from the get go considering the Spurs are in a rebuilding phase. Primo is extremely raw, but the shot-making potential is there, giving him the potential to be another draft steal for the Spurs.
Kevin Pangos
2020-21 Pro Stats: 12.2 PPG, 2.1 RBP, 6.5 APG, 40.6 FG3%
After five seasons of playing professional basketball abroad in Europe, nearly leading an underdog Zenit Saint Petersburg team to the Euroleague Final Four last season, Pangos finally got his NBA callup, signing a two-year, partly guaranteed contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason.
But don’t be surprised if the 28-year-old rookie makes an immediate impact on this young Cavaliers roster: despite being only 6-foot-2 and having defensive limitations, Pangos is a sharpshooter who converted on 41.7 percent of his 1072 three-point attempts over the last five seasons in Europe and with Team Canada, giving the Cavs much-needed spacing as a backup point guard off the bench. He is also a veteran organizer and willing passer who averaged 6.5 assists per game last season, a valuable skill on a team full of score-first players. It should be interesting to see what he can do at the NBA level after an illustrious pro career abroad.