Leonard Miller, Olivier-Maxence Prosper latest Canadians set for big nights at NBA Draft

We’ve grown accustomed to Canadians being selected in the first round of the NBA draft, and that trend is expected to continue Thursday in New York.

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Leonard Miller, who was born in Scarborough and began his high school years at Thornlea Secondary in North York before moving south, was a dark horse chosen in the lottery all season, but now Olivier- Maxence Prosper from Montreal the imagination of the NBA teams.

While Prosper’s numbers didn’t really stand out in his only season at Clemson and two at Marquette, his defense, intangibles, and NBA-grade strength and physique certainly did.

A handful of great draft workouts (in which Prosper impressed both on the court and in interviews) seem to have sealed the deal and landed him an invite to the Green Room – a list that includes the 25 players expected that they have the best chance of being selected in the first round.

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Miller should also be on that list, but hasn’t received an invitation yet.

Before going to college and after a stint in the US, Prosper followed the path of his compatriot and friend Bennedict Mathurin to the NBA academy in Mexico City to graduate from high school. He has grown to 1.80 m, weighs around 100 kg and has a wingspan of 2.10 m, a non-stop engine and solid athletics. Teams are planning Prosper to be a plug-and-play two-way winger — the type of player that’s in high demand these days. Add to that his maturity and the fact that few work harder and you understand Prosper’s appeal.

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Both of Prosper’s parents were All-Stars at Concordia University and his mother even played for Team Canada.

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Miller is considered a different type of prospect. He has a far higher cap (one of the highest in the draft, many scouts say if all goes well) than Prosper, and is both younger and taller. However, it will also likely take him a lot longer to break into the NBA as he is a former point guard adjusting to growth spurts that have taken him to around 6’1.

Miller, 19, has played well in the G League both last season (when he considered drafting) and this year, when he averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game scored

Miller can handle the ball (thanks to his experience as a guard), passes and rebounds, but needs work as a shooter and needs to add a few pounds to his physique to one day play power forward or even center against NBA competition (however). he is already much stronger than he seems).

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If Miller lands in the right spot where he’s developing properly and not in a hurry, there’s a chance he could be an all-star one day. But his rawness and shooting problems keep him from being a surefire lottery entrant because some teams lack either patience (due to general managers’ short shelf lives) or confidence in their processes based on previous failures with prospects.

It seems pretty obvious that both Miller and Prosper should be in the top 15-20 picks (“he’ll prove people wrong,” one scout told me about the possibility of Miller slipping), but you know never know what’s going to happen on draft night.

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Last year, two other Canadians started to rally just before the draft. In the end, Mathurin finished sixth after Indiana and London’s Shaedon Sharpe was a pick later after Portland. Later, Aurora’s Andrew Nembhard and Mississauga’s Caleb Houstan led the second round, also back to back.

In the past decade, two Canadians have been selected first overall (Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins) and another seven have been entered in the lottery, including new NBA champion Jamal Murray and All-NBA first-team guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Of the last 10 drafts, only 2020 was not selected at least one Canadian.