The celebrity seemingly arrived overnight, but the jump shot was perfected after long nights of shooting on his backyard hoop. Contrary to the Canadian folklore of kids having their fathers hose the backyard down to make a skating rink, Nik Stauskas had his backyard paved so that even when the leaves fell and ice was on the ground he could have his jumper fall from all spots on the court.

Stauskas is in many ways the epitome of the success of Canadian basketball. He’s not the son of a landed immigrant like Andrew Wiggins or Steve Nash. He didn’t spend much of his life in America like Trey Lyles or even Andy Rautins. He’s as Canadian as poutine and chose to play basketball chiefly over the popular adolescent sports like hockey.

That’s why, when he became the Big Ten player of the year and eighth-overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2014, it was a small victory for the growth of the game north of the border. Because despite immigration patterns and cost of participation he was living proof that basketball was not just exploiting extenuating circumstances; its popularity proved it was becoming woven into the Canadian fabric.

Yet, in a way, he was doomed from the start.

The Kings had just drafted a shooting guard, Ben McLemore, the year before, but instead of addressing other roster issues through the owner Vivek Randive intervened and implored them to take Stauskas. Automatically his name was mentioned in narratives about a meddling owner, and not his own abilities.

Still, high expectations followed. As did the chatter he was just another Jimmer Fredette, a volume scorer who, although fun to watch, didn’t have the strength or speed to get buckets consistently in the Association.

The on-court situation wasn’t any better. The Kings are DeMarcus Cousins’ team—new Coach George Karl is quickly learning so much is true—and their offense often runs through the ball-dominant Rudy Gay. Without an elite point guard Nik’s touches were unpredictable, as was his role. The Kings went through three different coaches last year, all of which saw Stauskas fulfilling a different role. The rookie struggled to find an identity.

This summer Sacramento sent Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry and Jason Thompson to the Philadelphia 76ers for the draft rights to international players Arturas Gudaitis and Luka Mitrovic, and future draft considerations. And it may be the exact change of scenery that will help Stauskas find himself again.

You know things are bad when a move to the perennially tanking Sixers who have won just 37 games the past two years, provides better stability.

The geography doesn’t hurt, either. His family is now just a drive away and his hometown Raptors will play the 76ers four times a year. It was tough to see his support system in Sac town as there are no international direct flights from Canada straight to Sacramento.

At Michigan his family was a fixture in Ann Arbor on game days and the same may hold true in Philly.

And, as that paved backyard proved, it was Stauskas’ family that encouraged his passion from the game. He and his father, Paul, would take yearly trips to Cleveland to see LeBron James play in person. When Stauskas was at summer league getting the first taste of NBA life, his craziest interaction was talking to his dad about how Lebron was going back to Cleveland. Those road trips are within reach again although now Paul’s son will be suiting up for the opposition.

A year later at summer league he learned just how transient the NBA can be. When he touched down in Las Vegas it was to meet his new Philadelphia 76ers teammates for the first time, he was the centre of conversation—and not King James.

When I talked to him about the move he seemed relaxed, almost relieved. “It was a tough year in Sacramento,” says Stauskas. “I loved my time there, loved my teammates and the fans, but Philly just seems like a great fit.”

The new found confidence showed on the court where he was both assertive and accurate from behind the line when I watched the Stauskas work out with his new teammates for the first time.

After he got extra shots up only seeing twine he said, “It’s a fresh start, I only see positives.”

In the city of brotherly love he’ll see consistent minutes with little pressure or expectations, something all young players need to find themselves in the league.

So who’s his comp? What can he become? “He’s not a bust; he was in a busted organization,” a Western Conference scout told me. “Aside from Cousins, who have the Kings drafted and developed? I was banging on the table to draft him and as you know, we picked before the Kings. He can be Chandler Parsons with better ball skills.”

Like Parsons, Stauskas has been recruiting this offseason. Yet it wasn’t with emoji’s and smiley faces on Twitter. It is all about smiling while draped in the Canadian flag as Stauskas is expected to be a part of the Canadian team qualifying for the Olympics later this summer.

“I’m excited for August. I’m excited at what’s to come —not even just this summer, but the next few years. I’ve been telling guys around the league get ready. I’m excited to play and I know lots of the guys in the NBA and NCAA are excited about what Steve and Coach Triano have built. I’m telling guys it’s on us not to waste it, let’s embrace it.”

Stauskas has been an internet sensation in his short time in the NBA. The nickname “Sauce Castillo”, based from a closed captioning blunder, has been trending multiple times. His running dialogue with a fan on canvassing retweets in exchange to take his girlfriend to prom was blogged about worldwide and discussed on PTI and TMZ. Yet he’s most exuberant, boastful, and passionate when he’s talking about gaining fame in his native land by representing his country.

Nik Stauskas is basketball in Canada. His ascension, struggle, fight, accessibility, humility and self-deprecating humour captures it all. The face of basketball in Canada in many cases will soon look no different than the faces of hockey in this country. No matter how big Sauce Castillo gets, there will always be some Maple in the recipe. As he tries to find his NBA self in a new home, his foundation remains the fundamentals he learned back home, in the backyard.