A Record 16 Canadians Listed On Opening Night NBA Rosters

Canada will have the most players from a non-U.S. country on the opening-night rosters of the 2019-20 NBA season.

A record 16 Canadians will start the season, either on the active or inactive list. The previous record was 13 set at the start of the 2014-15 NBA season.

In addition, the NBA draft featured a record six Canadians selected, highlighted by RJ Barrett, who was selected by the New York Knicks with the third overall pick in the first round. Barrett will make his professional debut on Wednesday when the Knicks visit the San Antonio Spurs.

Returning veterans from Canada include Denver guard Jamal Murray, who is coming off a breakout season with the Nuggets with career highs in points (18.2 per game), rebounds (4.2) and assists (4.8).

The others are Cleveland Cavaliers centre Tristan Thompson, Sacramento Kings guard Cory Joseph, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins and Miami Heat center Kelly Olynyk.

There also are four Canadians on two-way deals - making them eligible to play in the NBA and G League. Naz Mitrou-Long (Indiana Pacers), Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City), Marial Shayok (Philadelphia 76ers) and Oshae Brissett (Raptors).

The Canadian class is part of a group of 108 international opening-day players from 38 countries. The countries with the next highest complement of NBA players outside the U.S. are Australia (nine players), France (eight players), Croatia (seven players) and Serbia (six players).

The Mavericks have an NBA-high seven international players. The Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers each have six, while Memphis, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah and Washington each have five.

To mark the historic year for Canada, the NBA has produced a brand new Canadian tip-off spot that celebrates the country's connection to basketball. This 45-second spot will debut nationally during Tuesday night's tip off between the NBA champion Toronto Raptors and the New Orleans Pelicans at Scotiabank Arena.

t
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker, New Orleans Pelicans
t
• RJ Barrett, New York Knicks.
t
• Khem Birch, Orlando Magic
t
• Chris Boucher, Toronto Raptors
t
• Ignas Brazdeikis, New York Knicks
t
• Dillon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies
t
• Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies
t
• Cory Joseph, Sacramento Kings
t
• Mfiondu Kabengele, LA Clippers
t
• Trey Lyles, San Antonio Spurs
t
• Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
t
• Kelly Olynyk, Miami Heat
t
• Dwight Powell, Dallas Mavericks
t
• Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
t
• Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves
t
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder