NBA DRAFT SHOCK: CANADIAN PICKED FIRST OVERALL
Canadian basketball takes centre stage as Anthony Bennett goes first in NBA draft
Brampton native Anthony Bennett, a 6-foot-8 forward, became the first Canadian player to be selected first overall
in the NBA draft, held Thursday night in New York. He was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This was not supposed to happen for another year. It was supposed to take a talent as prodigious as Andrew Wiggins to bring on the deep questions: Has Canadian basketball arrived? What does it mean for a Canadian to go first overall?
There was always the chance, mind you, that the questions would have to be asked a year early. The 2013 NBA Draft was just too strange of a proposition, offering as it did a collection of role players, injured stars and flawed prospects. That put Anthony Bennett, from UNLV by way of Brampton, Ont., in a position to go first overall.
Still, until NBA commissioner David Stern said Bennett’s name just before 7:40 p.m. ET on Thursday, it seemed far from likely. Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel and Maryland centre Alex Len seemed like the safer bets.
And then — madness. Bennett is heading for Cleveland.
Mike Peck, who coached Bennett at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas and now coaches Idaho of the D-League, described his first thoughts: “Literally, Wow: that just happened. My phone started buzzing with texts from different people. Everyone was saying, ‘Wow, how about that. Did that just happened? Did you see that?’ It’s surreal.”
“I’m just as surprised as everybody else,” Bennett told reporters at the draft in Brooklyn.
Bennett, the forward who does not have a definite NBA position, looked shocked. He had shoulder surgery for a torn ligament, and missed all draft workouts because of it. But in a draft in which you could make a case for five or six different players being the top pick — Kansas guard Ben McLemore, who some experts called the most talented player in the draft, went seventh to Sacramento — it should not have been a surprise. Or, at least, all possible scenarios should have been classified as a surprise.
Despite the bizarre nature of the draft, this is momentous for Canadian basketball. In 2011, Tristan Thompson was picked fourth overall, becoming the highest-selected Canadian in the modern era. His new teammate has now surpassed him, by taking a very similar route: raised in Brampton, going to Findlay Prep and declaring after one excellent year in the NCAA. Bennett averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game at UNLV last year.
Still, one has to wonder if the pressure of being the top pick — even in a weaker draft — will get to Bennett.
“Anthony’s always handled pressure well,” said Todd Simon, now the head coach at Findlay, and an assistant while Bennett was there. “At Findlay, we were on top at our level. At UNLV, he made that choice, and said he was going to be a key component and the reason why that program would be successful. He craves that big moment. He’ll handle it just fine.”
The hype is already building — even Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent out a tweet congratulating Bennett on the honour.
“Congrats to @AnthonyBennett for being the first [Canadian] ever drafted #1 overall in the NBA draft,” Harper tweeted from @ pmharper. “Good luck in Cleveland, we’re all behind you.”
Cleveland is a team that has often gone against conventional wisdom. In 2011, the Cavaliers took Thompson fourth instead of Jonas Valanciunas. The next year, they selected Dion Waiters fourth instead of Harrison Barnes. Bennett, however, will not have to be the face of the team, given point guard Kyrie Irving’s presence. So, while the first-overall status might cling to him, there will be no notion that he has to carry the franchise.
“Because he can shoot, because he can go inside and outside, he’s a versatile player,” Simon said. “You can do different things with him. He’s going to be just fine. They can play him at the four [power forward]. They could play him together with Tristan. He could pick-and-pop with Kyrie.”
Bennett’s selection set the tone for a chaotic evening. Indiana’s Victor Oladipo went second to Orlando. After Washington went with the chalk and took local product Otto Porter, Charlotte went off the board to take forward Cody Zeller fourth. Philadelphia moved all-star point guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans for the rights to Noel and another pick. Dallas shipped the rights to the 13th pick — Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk, from Kamloops B.C. — to Boston. A blockbuster trade that would send Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn hung in the balance. It is difficult to expect the same number of surprises next year.
There should be one strong similarity, though.
“It’s history, man,” Bennett told ESPN. “Hopefully we can repeat it next year with Andrew Wiggins.”