Over the years, the NBA has become an increasingly international game with its stars hailing from every corner of the planet. And though Canada is not often considered a hotbed for basketball, the United States’ northern neighbor does send its share of stars to NBA franchises.
OntarioBets.com – your source for Ontario sports betting – used BasketballReference.com to look at the best players from any province or territory in Canada currently active in the NBA. OntarioBets used Win Shares from the 2022-23 season to determine who are the best players currently.
A player needed to eclipse 55 games for their win shares to count from 2022-23. If a player did not log that many games last season, we used his most recent season of 55 or more games.
Best Active Canadian NBA Players
Thunder Star Tops List of Canadian Players
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was determined to be the best current native Canadian in the NBA with Win Shares of 11.4 for the 2022-23 season. Various operators, including some new sportsbooks in Ontario, give OKC odds between +6600 and +10000 to win the NBA title in the 2023-24 season.
Last season in his fifth NBA campaign, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.4 points a game while playing point guard. In addition, he added 5.5 assists a game and grabbed 4.8 rebounds a game.
Unfortunately, the Thunder struggled to a 40-42 regular season record and was eliminated from the playoffs when they lost their play-in game to Minnesota. For Gilgeous-Alexander, 25, it was a career year as he made the NBA All-Star team and was named Al-NBA First Team.
He grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, and attended schools there before heading to the U.S. to play at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn. He played his college basketball at Kentucky.
His game props might be worth a look at Ontario betting apps next season.
Three Players Tied For Second
Three Canadian players were tied for second place in the rankings with 5.1 Win Shares, a metric which “attempts to divvy up credit for team success to the individuals on the team,” according to BasketballReference.
Those players were Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins, Denver guard Jamal Murray and Dallas center Dwight Powell. Wiggins earned his ranking because of his 2021-22 performance.
Murray was coming off a knee injury that had sidelined him the previous season and averaged 20 points and 6.2 assists. Murray, 26, was born and went to high school in Kitchener, Ontario, and played at Kentucky. His career year and spectacular postseason helped Denver win its first NBA championship in June.
Powell, 31, was born in Toronto but attended IMG Academy in Florida and went to Stanford in California. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds last season as Dallas had a 38-44 finish.
NorthStar Bets Ontario Sportsbook has +2500 odds for the Mavericks to win the 2023-24 NBA championship.
In 2021-22, Warriors forward Wiggins averaged 17.2 points and 5.1 in Win Shares. Last season, Wiggins, 28, was on track for a similar performance but personal issues forced him to miss substantial time.
Clarke Rounds Out Top Five
Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke was having a solid campaign last season, averaging 10 points through 56 games, but he tore an Achilles tendon in March. Clarke, 26 and a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, went to high school in Phoenix, Arizona, then played in college at San Jose State and Gonzaga. The power forward had 4.5 Win Shares before the injury sidelined him.
Fore more sports coverage plus information on Toronto online casinos, stay with us at OntarioBets.com.
