TWELVE CANADIANS ON NBA ROSTERS AS SEASON BEGINS TONIGHT

TORONTO, Ont. - With the NBA season set to begin tonight, Canada will once again carry the distinct honour of featuring the most international-born players for a season, an achievement the nation has earned four years in a row.

Out of a record 42 countries and territories, 12 Canadians will be on opening-night rosters and two-way contacts, with two of those players entering their first seasons in the league.

A fresh crop of players will look to set their basketball careers in motion this season and continue the Canadian lineage as Dillon Brooks and Chris Boucher are both entering their rookie years.

Brooks, who played for the Oregon Ducks last season and was the winner of the 2017 Pac-12 Player of the Year award, was drafted 45th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies this summer.

His former teammate at Oregon, Boucher, signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors after going undrafted. Boucher becomes one of a small handful of players to take advantage of the NBA's newest two-way contract policy and is the first ever international player to sign one.

A bevy of NBA teams shuffled their rosters during the offseason. While some players opted to sign elsewhere during free agency, some were traded - including a few Canadians.

Former Toronto Raptors guard Cory Joseph was a part of a trade over the summer with the Indiana Pacers, while third-year forward Trey Lyles was traded in June by the Utah Jazz to the Denver Nuggets.

After spending four seasons with the Boston Celtics, Kelly Olynyk signed a four-year contract during the offseason with the Miami Heat. Centre Khem Birch, who played in Greece last season with Olympiacos, is getting set to begin his first regular season in the league after signing with the Orlando Magic this summer.

A nation brimming with talent, Canada has effectively left its mark in the NBA sphere as a formidable force. From Steve Nash and Andrew Wiggins stockpiling prestigious hardware to Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph clasping the Larry O'Brien trophy as NBA champions, the country has produced an impressive collection of talent and is now entering a new frontier of basketball ascendancy.

NBA Players

Name Age 2016-17 Team/Stats Current Team Khem Birch 25 Olympiacos (Greece)

7.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 18.1 MPG, 37 GP Orlando

Magic *Chris Boucher 24 Oregon (NCAA)

11.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 23.5 MPG, 31 GP Golden State

Warriors Dillon Brooks 21 Oregon (NCAA)

16.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 25.3 MPG, 35 GP Memphis

Grizzlies Tyler Ennis 23 Los Angeles Lakers/Denver Nuggets

4.3 PPG, 1.6 APG, 11.1 MPG, 53 GP Los Angeles

Lakers Cory Joseph 26 Toronto Raptors

9.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.3 APG, 25 MPG, 80 GP Indiana Pacers Trey Lyles 21 Utah Jazz

6.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 16.3 MPG, 71 GP Denver Nuggets Jamal Murray 20 Denver Nuggets

9.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2 APG, 21.5 MPG, 82 GP Denver Nuggets Kelly Olynyk 26 Boston Celtics

9.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 20.5 MPG, 75 GP Miami Heat Dwight Powell 26 Dallas Mavericks

6.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 17.3 MPG, 77 GP Dallas Mavericks Nik Stauskas 24 Philadelphia 76ers

9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 27.3 MPG, 80 GP Philadelphia

76ers Tristan Thompson 26 Cleveland Cavaliers

8.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 30 MPG, 78 GP Cleveland

Cavaliers Andrew Wiggins 22 Minnesota Timberwolves

23.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 37.2 MPG, 82 GP Minnesota

Timberwolves

*Two-way contract

NBA Coaches

Name Team/Position Jay Triano Phoenix Suns

Associate Head Coach Scott Morrison Boston Celtics

Assistant Coach

Canadian Players' Schedule