The Most Famous

BASKETBALL PLAYERS from Canada

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This page contains a list of the greatest Canadian Basketball Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,757 Basketball Players, 36 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 9th most number of Basketball Players behind Australia, and Russia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Canadian Basketball Players of all time. This list of famous Canadian Basketball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Canadian Basketball Players.

Photo of Bob Houbregs

1. Bob Houbregs (1932 - 2014)

With an HPI of 48.33, Bob Houbregs is the most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Robert J. Houbregs (March 12, 1932 – May 28, 2014) was a Canadian professional basketball player. Houbregs was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.

Photo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 47.04, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the 2nd most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander ( SHAY GHIL-jəs; born July 12, 1998), also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a three-time NBA All-Star, a three-time All-NBA First Team member, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 2024–25 season; that season, he also led the Thunder to their first championship since relocating to Oklahoma City. Gilgeous-Alexander played one year of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and was selected 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2018 NBA draft before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers that same night. In his rookie year, Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team before being traded to the Thunder in July 2019. In his first year with Oklahoma City, he was their leading scorer and helped them make the playoffs as a fifth seed. After dealing with injuries the next two seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander was named to his first NBA All-Star Game and was voted to the All-NBA First Team in 2023, when he finished fourth in the league in scoring with 31.4 points per game. In the 2024–25 season, he led the league in scoring with 32.7 points per game, won the NBA MVP award, and earned Finals MVP en route to winning the 2025 NBA Finals. He became the fourth player in NBA history to win MVP, Finals MVP, and a scoring title in the same season. With the Canadian national team, Gilgeous-Alexander won the bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and was named to the World Cup All-Tournament Team. He was given the Northern Star Award in 2023 as Canadian athlete of the year, only the second basketball player to be honoured with the award.

Photo of Rick Fox

3. Rick Fox (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 46.83, Rick Fox is the 3rd most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Ulrich Alexander Fox (born July 24, 1969) is a Bahamian-Canadian actor and former basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He was the owner of the eSports franchise Echo Fox until his departure from the franchise in October 2019. His acting credits include roles in Oz, He Got Game, One Tree Hill, Ugly Betty, The Game, The Big Bang Theory, Meet the Browns, Melrose Place, Mr. Box Office, Sin City Saints, Krystal, Sharknado, Greenleaf, Morning Show Mysteries, All Rise and Holes.

Photo of Nickeil Alexander-Walker

4. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 46.50, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the 4th most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker ( nih-KEEL; born September 2, 1998) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies. A shooting guard, he was drafted 17th overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019 NBA draft but was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Photo of Luguentz Dort

5. Luguentz Dort (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 46.24, Luguentz Dort is the 5th most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Luguentz Dort (born April 19, 1999; French: [dɔʁ] or English: DORT) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Dort joined the Thunder as an undrafted free agent in July 2019 and is the longest tenured player on the team. Highly regarded for his defense, Dort was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2025, later winning the NBA Finals that same year. Dort completed his high school career at the Athlete Institute in Mono, Ontario, where he was rated as high as a five-star recruit and was one of the top high school players in Canada. In his first year with Arizona State, he earned second-team All-Pac-12 Conference honours and was named to the all-defensive team in the Pac-12. He was also voted the conference's freshman of the year.

Photo of RJ Barrett

6. RJ Barrett (b. 2000)

With an HPI of 45.77, RJ Barrett is the 6th most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Rowan Alexander "RJ" Barrett Jr. (born June 14, 2000) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected third overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the New York Knicks after one year of college basketball with the Duke Blue Devils. Born in Toronto as the son of former basketball player Rowan Barrett, Barrett shone at St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, before transferring to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. He was a five-star recruit and the consensus top recruit in the 2018 class, earning Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year accolades in his final high school season whilst playing as a shooting guard a majority of the season. He was ranked the top player in his class by all recruiting services and was the first player since LeBron James to sweep all major awards in high school and win the national championship. With the Canadian national under-19 team, Barrett was named MVP at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup after leading his team to a gold medal. He debuted for the senior team during qualification for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Photo of Nik Stauskas

7. Nik Stauskas (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 45.32, Nik Stauskas is the 7th most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Nikolas Tomas Stauskas (born October 7, 1993) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Stauskas played two seasons of college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines from 2012 to 2014. He was drafted eighth overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. Stauskas, whose family is of Lithuanian heritage, is a member of the Canadian national team. As a freshman for the 2012–13 Michigan Wolverines, Stauskas was named Sports Illustrated National Freshman of the Week once, Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week three times and to the Wayman Tisdale Award, United States Basketball Writers Association's National Freshman of the Year, top 12 midseason list. During the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, he earned South All-Regional Team recognition. As a sophomore for the 2013–14 team, Stauskas went on to be named a 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball consensus All-American and was named Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year for the 2013–14 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season. Stauskas has played for several NBA and NBA G League teams. In 2022, he reached the NBA Finals with the Celtics.

Photo of Bill Wennington

8. Bill Wennington (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 44.03, Bill Wennington is the 8th most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

William Percey Wennington (born April 26, 1963) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he represented Canada in the 1984 Olympics and 1983 World University Games, where the team won gold. He was also on the Canadian team that narrowly missed qualification for the 1992 Olympics. Wennington has been inducted into the Quebec Basketball Hall of Fame and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Photo of Andrew Wiggins

9. Andrew Wiggins (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 43.56, Andrew Wiggins is the 9th most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers after one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks. Wiggins grew up in Canada before attending his last two years of high school in the United States, where he was named a McDonald's All-American. At Kansas, he was named a second-team consensus All-American before becoming the second Canadian to be selected No. 1 overall in an NBA draft. After a preseason trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wiggins earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors for the 2014–15 season. After five-and-a-half seasons with Minnesota, he was traded to Golden State in 2020. In 2022, Wiggins won his first NBA championship and was selected for his first NBA All-Star game, and was named a Western Conference starter. He has also been a member of the Canadian national team.

Photo of Tristan Thompson

10. Tristan Thompson (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 43.30, Tristan Thompson is the 10th most famous Canadian Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Tristan Trevor James Thompson (born March 13, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016 and has also played for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers. Thompson played one season of college basketball for the Texas Longhorns before being drafted fourth overall by the Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA draft. He has also played for the Canadian national team.

People

Pantheon has 36 people classified as Canadian basketball players born between 1932 and 2002. Of these 36, 35 (97.22%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Canadian basketball players include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Rick Fox, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The most famous deceased Canadian basketball players include Bob Houbregs. As of April 2024, 36 new Canadian basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Bob Houbregs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Rick Fox.

Living Canadian Basketball Players

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Deceased Canadian Basketball Players

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Newly Added Canadian Basketball Players (2024)

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