Following a bronze medal win at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and securing a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the excitement and interest in Canadian basketball has reached an all-time high, like Canada’s international ranking and official count of NBA players.
Led by a balanced roster of unsung heroes, from the qualification rounds to the podium, it was Canada’s NBA players who rose to the occasion when it mattered most and delivered this generations’ thriller in Manila against the world’s best.
Putting aside their NBA jersey colours, eight Canadian NBA players made up the core of the strongest international roster that Canada has ever put together for a FIBA sanctioned competition.
That is, until next summer, it is anticipated, but unlikely, that Canada will roll out an all-NBA lineup that could make a push for another podium finish.
But before all of that, we have an entire NBA season to get through and a lot of stats, facts and records to track, analyze and visualize.
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Now in its fourth edition, the BasketballBuzz Canadian NBA stats tracker has become a unique and valuable resource that delivers all the stats you need and want including per game, totals and advanced statistics all wrapped-up with beautiful interactive charts.
Go beyond the traditional box score stats and track points by position, draft year, draft round, minutes by draft round, production by team college and high schools.
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – Per Game
Last season Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all the Canadians in points, assists, steals, free-throws attempted, made and percentage. The per game chart offers a quick view of all the Canadian players in the NBA. Toggle on/off the stats categories to focus on a specific category.
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – Totals
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – Advanced
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – Points by position
Traditionally speaking, the offensive production from Canadians in the NBA has always predominately come from the guard and forward positions. A quick glance at the all-time Canadian scoring leaders revels six guards, three forwards and only one center in the top ten positions.
The trend continues this season and for the foreseeable future as Canada continues to develop more dominant NBA calibre guard players. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Shaedon Sharpe, Jamal Murray, Dillon Brooks, Luguentz Dort, and Bennedict Mathurin account for the majority of the scoring punch.
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2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – MIN, PTS, REB, AST, STL, BLK by Draft year
Ultimately, the 2022 Canadian NBA Draft class will likely go down as one of the all-time best. All four players (Benedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe, Andrew Nembhard, Caleb Houstan) drafted into the league that year have become key contributors on their respective teams.
The record-breaking class of 2019, with four (RJ Barrett, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Brandon Clarke, Oshae Brissett) of the seven players drafted still in the league, plus the slept on emergence of undrafted Luguentz Dort is also putting strong numbers across the board.
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – Points by Draft round
The majority (53%) of the Canadians in the NBA for the 2023-24 season were selected in the first-round of the NBA Draft, therefore it is not a coincidence that they would combine for the large share of total points scored this season.
Buoyed by two 45th picks (Dwight Powell, Dillon Brooks) and the consistent play of Andrew Nembhard, the second-round selectioms hold a slim scoring output edge over that of the undrafted Canadian players.
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – Minutes by Draft round
Now let’s look at the minutes’ distribution by drafted round. Of the 28 Canadian NBA players this year, 15 of them were selected in the first-round and four are averaging over 30 minutes per game. Of the six current second-round players, Dillon Brooks is the only one to establish himself as a full-time starter, logging heavy minutes for the Houston Rockets.
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Other former second-round selections who are playing consistent minutes include Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard and Dallas Mavericks veteran forward Dwight Powell.
As the only starter of the seven undrafted Canadians players playing in the NBA this season, Luguentz Dort’s big minutes almost tip the scale to the side of the those for didn’t get to shake the commissioner’s hand on Draft day.
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – PTS, REB, AST, STL, BLK by college
Not only do the Kentucky Wildcats have a share of the most Canadians currently playing in the NBA. They also have the top scoring trio. The combination of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray and Shaedon Sharpe account for nearly 35% percent of all the total points scored.
Similar to Kentucky, Oregon also has four players in the league this year, but their production output is nearly half of that of the Wildcats at roughly 15% percent. The Gonzaga duo of Kelly Olynyk and Andrew Nembhard missed out on playing together at the 2019 FIBA world cup. Hopefully they will get another run as soon Paris 2024, the two former Bulldogs’ rank in the top five in assists.
2023-24 Canadian NBA Stats Tracker – PTS, REB, AST, STL, BLK by high school
Further illustrating the tremendous impact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having, this breakdown by high school puts Hamilton Heights Christian Academy over the top, despite only having two (Nickeil Alexander-Walker) Canadian NBA players with links to the Chattanooga, Tennessee program.
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Montverde Academy with former high school standouts, RJ Barrett, Andrew Nembhard and Caleb Houstan are making a strong push, followed by the combination of Orangeville Prep and Athlete Institute Prep.
