Canada's national pastime involves a stick and a puck, but there's no denying that basketball has quickly grown in popularity – and so have NBA betting sites. A host of NBA stars have called Canada home since the turn of the 21st century. Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are among the best hoops stars that Canada has ever produced.
RotoWire.com put together the country's All Quarter Century NBA team – with Nash and SGA manning the backcourt and three other contemporary players rounding out the list. Bookmark RotoWire for the best sportsbook promos around.
Canada Quarter Century Team Members
Steve Nash (2004-2012)
The man who ranks third all-time in Phoenix Suns history with 82.7 win shares across 744 games in the Valley kicks off Canada's All-Quarter-Century list. Steve Nash won both of his NBA MVPs in Phoenix while making four consecutive All-Star teams from 2004-05 to 2007-08. In that time, Nash – who was born in South Africa but grew up in Canada and represented that nation in international play – dished out 9.4 assists per game while scoring 14.4 points per game for Phoenix, cementing his status as one of the best playmakers in the NBA during that time.
Nash played his final two seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and began his career with six seasons as a member of the Dallas Mavericks, but most remember his NBA run as a member of the Suns, when he ran one of the league's most explosive offenses and won a lot of games along the way.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2018 to Present)
The 2024-25 NBA MVP is compiled a heater of a season, with Toronto native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 32.7 points per game and racking up 16.7 win shares for the eventua champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The 11th pick out of Kentucky in 2018 has 60.4 win shares across his 462-game NBA career, making three All-NBA teams and making the 2018-19 NBA All-Rookie team to boot. While the 26-year-old guard still has a lot of basketball in front of him, Gilgeous-Alexander has already cemented his status as one of the best Canadian-born players in league history, joining Nash as an MVP and guiding OKC to new heights this past season. SGA also averaged 19 points and four assists per game at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, helping Canada to a third-place finish.
Andrew Wiggins (2014 to Present)
The top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has seen his share of highs and lows with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat. Toronto native Andrew Wiggins made one All-Star team in 2021-22 with the Warriors and was named Rookie of the Year in 2014-15. In total, Wiggins has racked up 33.1 win shares across his 766-game NBA career, making it 11 years in the league after struggling out of the gate with the Timberwolves. Wiggins has not lived up to the billing placed upon him by fans out of Kansas as the No. 1 pick 11 years ago, but there's no denying he has been one of the best Canadian basketball players this century, earning him a spot on the country's list.
RJ Barrett (2019 to Present)
RJ Barrett has been in the NBA for six seasons after getting picked third overall by the New York Knicks out of Duke in 2019. Barrett has 13.3 win shares across 387 games with the Knicks and Toronto Raptors. While the power forward has yet to make an All-Star team, he was a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award in 2019-20 and has averaged 18.8 ppg. Barrett is just 24, so there's still plenty of time for him to build upon his career. But the Toronto native's on-court exploits have stood tall to date, both south of the border and with the lone franchise north of it.
Kelly Olynyk (2013 to Present)
Through 800 games in the league, center Kelly Olynyk has racked up 46.2 win shares while averaging 10.2 points per game. Yet another Toronto-born member of this list, Olynyk has been with seven different NBA teams, including four seasons each with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. Olynyk has never made an All-Star team, but his steady presence in the paint for seven NBA teams was enough to warrant a spot on Canada's best team of the past 25 years. He started the 2024-25 season with the hometown Raptors, who traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans in February.
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