Meet the GTA athletes who just got drafted to the NBA

On June 23rd, four Canadian basketball players had their dreams come true as they were selected in the NBA draft. Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe, Andrew Nembhard and Caleb Houstan were among those selected, with the last three growing up in the GTA. 

Shaedon Sharpe is a 6’6 guard who calls London, Ontario home. He went to H. B. Beal Secondary School in London before transferring to different prep schools across the U.S. However, Sharpe would come home in the summers to compete in the Nike EYBL AAU sessions for Uplay Canada. Out of high school, Sharpe was considered the consensus best player in his graduating class. He would eventually choose to take his talents to Kentucky, where he wouldn’t play a single game. Still, Sharpe would be selected at number seven by the Portland Trail Blazers. 

The next Canadian prospect selected in the draft was Andrew Nembhard from Aurora. Nembhard attended Vaughan Secondary School for one year before transferring to the star-studded Montverde Academy in Florida. Like Sharpe, Nembhard would play for Uplay Canada in the summers where he teamed up with current NBA player R.J. Barrett. In college, Nembhard bounced from Florida to Gonzaga for his junior year. As it turns out, his senior year was his statement season as he was selected 31st in the draft by the Indiana Pacers. 

Selected right after Nembhard at 32nd is Caleb Houstan from Mississauga. Like Nembhard, Houston attended Montverde Academy in Florida, although he was there for three years. He chose to forego his senior season and commit to Michigan where he would declare for the NBA draft just one year later. The Orlando Magic would select Houstan in the early stages of the second round. 

Notably, the Toronto Raptors selected right after Houstan was scooped up and went for 7-footer Christian Koloko. From Cameroon, Koloko proved himself to be an elite interior defender at Arizona, earning first-team all-PAC-12 honours in 2022. That same season, Koloko won PAC-12 defensive player of the year as well as being named on the all-defensive team. 

The next stop for these GTA-based athletes is the NBA Summer League.