Article author:
Canadian Press
Brooklyn, NY — Canadian Benedict Maturin and Shadeon Sharp Was chosen back-to-back in the first round of the NBA Draft on Thursday.
The 20-year-old Maturin from Montreal was named sixth by the Indiana Pacers.
After a while, the Portland Trail Blazers brought 19-year-old Sharp from London, Ontario to 7th place.
Two Canadians are in the top 10 of the NBA Draft. In 2014, Andrew Wiggins was named Cleveland in 1st place overall and Sacramento in 8th place by Nik Stauskas.
Maturin and Sharp have taken very different paths to the draft.
6-6 guard Maturin became the first Canadian to attend the NBA Academy in Mexico City in 2018-20. He then played for two seasons at the University of Arizona, winning the honor of the best player in the Pac-12 tournament, averaging 17.4 points and 5.6 rebounds this year.
He scored 30 points in the second round of the March Madness Big Game, helping Arizona defeat Texas Christian University in overtime.
The broadcaster compared Maturin's game with the Toronto Raptors' OG Anunoby.
Sharp hasn't played an important 5v5 game since last fall.
He joined the Kentucky Wildcats in January, but he never played the game and he raised his eyebrows when he declared this year's draft.
This report by Canadian Press was first published on June 23, 2022.
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