Steve Nash.

How about…"Who are the Top 25 Canadian basketball players of all time?" This one may be a little a bit tricky. One for not only the bar flies but historians.

With this in mind the criteria is simple. To be voted into the Top 25 Canadian players of all time, one must have been born in Canada or have played a significant portion of their career here.

Example Brian Heaney, a 1997 Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, was not born in Canada but played university ball at Acadia University. Bob Houbregs was born here but left at age six for the U.S.A. where he became a legendary player and was later inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Massachusetts. Rick Fox also left at an early age – two – to move to the Bahamas with his folks.

Current Philadelphia 76er's Samuel Dalembert came to Canada from Haiti when he was 14 and really only played two years of organized basketball on Canadian soil before relocating to the U.S. of A and only recently  taken out Canadian citizenship. Add to the mixture former L.A. Laker's guard Michael Penberthy who once talked about becoming a Canadian citizen as the California native’s mother is from London, Ontario.

So there is a thin line.

So with no further adieu here are the Top 25 Canadian players of all time, each with a brief bio sketch.

TEAM 1
C-  William Percey Wennington (born April 26, 1963 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) He is a former NBA center who won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls: the 1996, 1997 and 1998 teams. He was also a member of two Canadian Olympic Basketball Teams (1984 and 1992) and the 1983 World University Games team that won gold against the USA. Wennigton has been inducted into the Quebec Basketball Hall of Fame and Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame. Wennington attended Long Island Lutheran High School on Long Island and St. John's University, New York, United States, playing on one NCAA Final Four team under legendary St. John's Redmen basketball coach, Lou Carnesecca. Before joining the Chicago Bulls, he spent a few notable years in Italy playing for Virtus (Knorr) from Bologna. In 1995, Michael Jordan scored 55 points against the New York Knicks in his first game at Madison Square Garden since his first retirement. However, it was Wennington who scored the game-winning basket for his only two points of the game, leading him to quip, "Michael and I combined for 57 points." Indeed, Wennington's wit made him a fan favorite, and Chicago-area McDonald's restaurants honored him with a "Beef Wennington" burger (complete with Canadian bacon) in the late 1990s. The "Beef Wennington" won awards from the American Culinary Institute and has been acclaimed as one of the finest fast food burgers of its era. In October of 2005, Bill Wennington was inducted into the Carey 306 Hall of Fame at St. John's University. Wennington authored the book "Tales From The Bulls Hardwood". He now does color commentary for the Bulls on ESPN 1000 Drafted by: Dallas, 1985 NBA Draft, 16th pick overall

F - Jamaal Magloire 6-11 born May 21, 1978 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian professional basketball player, currently playing for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. He attended Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute.A 6'11", 259-pound (2.11 m, 117.5 kg) center, Magloire started 12 games as a sophomore for the Kentucky Wildcats team that won the national championship in 1998. He finished his college career as Kentucky's all-time leader in blocked shots, with 268. He was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 19th pick of the 2000 NBA Draft, but filled a reserve role for his first two seasons in which he averaged 6.5 points in 16.8 minutes per game. But in 2002-03, the Hornets' first year in New Orleans, he started all 82 games, averaging 10.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.2003-04 was the season in which Magloire really began to get some respect from coaches and peers around the NBA. He averaged 13.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game while starting all 82 games, and was even named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. Magloire being named an All-Star was perhaps a controversial decision at the time, with many pundits and sportswriters asking, "Who the heck is Jamaal Magloire?" But he more than held his own against the best the NBA had to offer, contributing 19 points and 8 rebounds in his 21 minutes of action. On October 26, 2005, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Desmond Mason, a 2006 first-round draft pick and cash considerations. On July 31, 2006, during the offseason, Magloire was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Steve Blake, Ha Seung-Jin, and Brian Skinner. Although Magloire has averaged nearly 10 points per game throughout his entire NBA career, he did not score over nine points in a single game during his first 20 games as a Trail Blazer. In fact, only eight times did Magloire record over 11 points during 81 regular season games in 2006-07. Magloire finished the season with an average of only 21 minutes played per game, down from 30 minutes played in the previous two seasons. Magloire becomes a free agent on July 1 2007.

F- Ulrich Alexander (Rick) Fox (born July 24, 1969 in Toronto, Canada) is an actor and former professional basketball player. Born to a Bahamian father and Italian-Canadian mother, Fox's family moved to their native Bahamas when Fox was two. He attended Kingsway Academy, Nassau and was a member of the high school's basketball team, "Saints." He then also played high school basketball in Warsaw, Indiana, United States, before starring collegiately at the University of North Carolina where his highlights included upsetting #1 Oklahoma in the second round of the 1990 NCAA Tournament with a short bank shot at the buzzer, and leading the Tar Heels to the 1991 NCAA Final Four. Fox began his pro-basketball career when he was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (24th pick overall) of the 1991 NBA Draft. Fox played for thirteen seasons in the NBA (from 1991–1997 with the Boston Celtics and from 1997–2004 with the Los Angeles Lakers). He was the first Boston Celtics rookie forward to start in his first appearance since Larry Bird's rookie debut in 1979. He retired prior to the 2004-05 season after being traded to the Celtics, along with Gary Payton. The Lakers won three NBA championships during his tenure with them. Fox was formerly married to actress/singer and former Miss America Vanessa Williams whom he has a daughter Sasha with. They divorced in 2004 after pictures were published in the National Enquirer showing Fox in a compromising position with another woman. His acting credits include playing prison inmate Jackson Vahue on the HBO prison drama Oz. He has also appeared in a number of basketball themed films, namely Eddie, He Got Game, and Blue Chips. Recently, he has guest starred in One Tree Hill and Shark (TV series) with James Woods . He also appeared in the movie Holes. He recently appeared in the tv show "Dirt". Fox has signed on with the show Dirt to play a recurring role in a multiepisode story line.  Fox played internationally for Canada once, at the 1994 FIBA Basketball World Championship held in Toronto. His team was eliminated on the final possession of a game against Greece when he failed to get off a final shot.

G Leo R. Rautins (born 20 March 1960 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional basketball player, the current head coach of the Canadian national men's basketball team, and an NBA analyst for the Toronto Raptors. Rautins was a star in high school for St. Michael's College School in Toronto, the University of Minnesota for his freshman year of college, and Syracuse University for three seasons, the autumn of 1980 through to the spring of 1983. As a Golden Gopher, Rautins was named first-team All Big-Ten rookie, averaging 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists a game. As a member of the Orangemen, he averaged 12.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 6.2 rebounds. He is the first player ever to record a triple-double in Big East play, accomplishing the feat twice in the span of a month during his senior year. He was named All Big East third team and Honorable Mention All American that year. The 6'8, 215lbs. Rautins was the first Canadian ever drafted in the first round of the NBA Entry Draft going 17th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1983 Draft. He was a disappointment however as an NBA player. Hampered by knee problems, he played in 28 games as a rookie with the Sixers, averaging just 7 minutes a game, 1.5 points, 1 assist, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.7 turnovers. According to the NBA's PER format (used to measure player efficiency), Leo Rautins was measured as the least productive Canadian Basketball player with a career greater than 50 games.He went on to play 4 games for the Atlanta Hawks the following season, averaging a mere 3 minutes a contest before leaving the NBA to play in Europe. Rautins played 1985 through 1987 in Italy's LEGA A, 1989-90 and 1992 in France, and 1991-92 in Spain. At the time of his retirement, he had undergone a total of 14 knee operations. Rautins is the youngest player ever to be on the roster the Canadian senior national team, becoming a member at age 16. He completed his national team playing career in 1992 as Canada was eliminated in the Tournament of the Americas, the Basketball qualifying tournament for the Barcelona Olympics. Upon retirement, Rautins became a basketball commentator, most notably with the Toronto Raptors television network and ESPN. A member of Canada's Basketball Hall of Fame, he was named head coach of the Canadian National Team in February, 2005. Rautins' son Andy Rautins is a graduate of Jamesville-Dewitt High School and currently a sophomore on the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team.

G - Steven John Nash OBC (born February 7, 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball player. He currently plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the reigning back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player. Nash had an outstanding high school basketball career, but garnered no attention from US College recruiters as he was based in Canada. He was eventually picked up by Santa Clara University head coach Dick Davey, and he began his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns not long after, but his impact in the two years of his first stint was minimal. He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, and by his third season with the Mavericks, he had established himself as one of the top point guards in the league. In 2001, he was voted into his first All-Star game and earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash brought the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals the following season, which was the best achievement in the Mavericks' franchise history. Nash became a free agent after the 2003-04 NBA season and signed for the Phoenix Suns. He was instrumental in dramatically transforming the fortunes of the Suns, leading them to an NBA-best 62-20 win-loss record as well as into the Western Conference Finals. For his efforts, he was named the league MVP and he repeated this feat in the 2005-06 NBA season. Now into his third season with the Suns, Nash continues to form the pivot of one of the league's most potent offensive teams. NBA careerFirst stint in Phoenix Nash was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft. Upon hearing the draft announcement, Suns fans booed in disapproval of the relatively unknown player. Despite his impressive college accomplishments, he had not played in one of the major college conferences. During his first two seasons in the NBA, he played a supporting role behind NBA star point guards Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson Dallas: Nash had met and befriended Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson while he was at Santa Clara and Nelson worked for the nearby Golden State Warriors. He agreed to select Nash with the 15th pick. After moving to Dallas, Nelson was able to convince his father, Don Nelson, who was then the Mavericks coach and GM, to acquire Nash. On Draft Day, June 25, 1998, Nash was traded from the Suns to the Mavericks in exchange for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity, and a first-round draft pick which was later used to select Shawn Marion but went back to Phoenix in 2004. During Nash's first year in Dallas, the lockout-shortened season of 1999, he notched the starting spot and averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He missed the last 10 games of the season due to a lower back injury. In the 1999-2000 season, the team's prospects improved considerably. Nash missed 25 mid-season games due to an ankle injury, but he came back to notch 6 double-doubles in the last month of play. He finished the season with averages of 8.6 points and 4.9 assists per game. More importantly for the team, second-year teammate and friend Dirk Nowitzki was blossoming into a superstar, veteran Michael Finley was having an All-Star-caliber year, and the team's new owner, billionaire Mark Cuban, was bringing new energy and excitement to the franchise. Nash now had a supportive environment in which he could thrive. In 2000-01, Nash averaged 15.6 points and 7.3 assists per game in a breakout season. With Nash directing the offense, Nowitzki and Finley playing at their best, and new acquisition, All-Star Juwan Howard, complementing the high-scoring trio, the Mavericks earned a playoff berth for the first time in more than a decade. Dallas lost in the second round, but it marked the beginning of a memorable title run for Nash and the Mavericks. In the 2001-02 season, Nash posted career-highs of 17.9 PPG and 7.7 APG and earned a spot in the NBA All-Star Game and on the All-NBA Third Team. He was now an all-star, increasingly appearing in television commercials and, with Finley and Nowitzki, part of the Dallas Mavericks "Big Three." Dallas earned another trip to the playoffs and again lost in the second round to the Sacramento Kings four games to one. Nash closely replicated his previous season's performance in 2002-03, averaging 17.7 points and 7.3 assists per game, again earning All-Star and All-NBA Third Team honors. Nowitzki and Nash led the Mavericks from an incredible 14-game winning streak to open the season all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the eventual NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs four games to two. It was only the second Conference Final appearance in franchise history. The 2003-04 season saw a drop-off in Nash's scoring contributions and he was left off the All-Star and All-NBA team rosters. Despite this, he achieved new career highs in assists per game (8.8) and free throw accuracy (91.6%). Dallas suffered defeat in the first round of the playoffs to the Sacramento Kings four games to one. Now a free agent, Nash attempted to negotiate a long-term contract with Mark Cuban. Cuban did not want to lose Nash, but wanted to build his franchise around the younger Nowitzki and did not want to risk signing the aging Nash to a long-term deal. Instead he offered a four year deal worth about $9 million per year, with a fifth year partially guaranteed. Cuban wrote in his own blog that this is what he considered fair and if Nash could get a better offer from another team he should take it and Cuban would be happy for him. Nash continued looking for a better deal and found one in Phoenix, where he still had a home and ties to the local community. Unfazed by Nash's age (30), the Suns offered him a six-year, $63 million contract. He was reluctant to leave Dallas and returned to Cuban to see if he would match the deal, to no avail. Nash signed a long-term contract with the Phoenix Suns for the 2004-05 season. On a June 14, 2006 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Cuban wondered out loud, ". . . you know Steve's a great guy and I love him to death, but why couldn't he play like an MVP for us?" The Phoenix Suns had two emerging young players in small forward Shawn Marion and forward-center Amare Stoudemire, the 2002-03 Rookie of the Year, but the season before Nash arrived, the Suns recorded a 29-53 win-loss record. Other than the additions of Nash and swingman Quentin Richardson, the line-up was essentially unchanged from the previous season, and most critics projected them to have another poor season. Head coach Mike D'Antoni, who had taken over midway through the previous season, favored an up tempo style of basketball. This style requires smaller, more athletic players with the capability to outrun and out-shoot their opponents. Nash's familiarity with this style combined with the athleticism of teammates Stoudemire, Marion, and Joe Johnson to produce many highlight reels, an NBA-best 62-20 record (a 33-win improvement from the previous season) and a points per game average of 110.4, the highest in a decade. As the Suns' starting point guard and a veteran among youngsters, Nash proved to be a threat in every aspect of the Suns' offense and was one of the catalysts for the team's dramatic turnaround. He averaged 11.5 assists per game (the highest mark in that category since 1995) while making 50.2% of his field goals and 43.1% of his 3-pointers. In the playoffs, Phoenix swept the Memphis Grizzlies in four games before meeting Nash's former club, the Dallas Mavericks, in the second round. Leading the Suns to a 4-2 series win, Nash put up some of the best numbers of his career, averaging 30.3 points, 12.0 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game, recording his first playoff triple-double, and scoring a 2005 playoff high 48 points in one game. The Suns played in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1993, losing to the eventual NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs in five games. For the series, Nash averaged 23.2 points and 10.6 assists per game. Most Valuable Player 2005: In 2005, Nash edged Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat to win the NBA MVP award. Nash became the first Canadian and the second foreign-born player (after Hakeem Olajuwon) to earn the honor. He is the first MVP who did not lead his team in scoring since Dave Cowens in 1972-73. Nash is just the third point guard ever to be named MVP — along with Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy — and only the sixth guard (Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, and Allen Iverson being the others). Nash was the first white player to win the award since Larry Bird in 1986. Nash is also the lowest drafted player to win the award. 2005-2006: After losing three key players in the off-season (Stoudemire to a knee injury, Joe Johnson to a trade for Boris Diaw (who was later on named "Most Improved Player" of 2006) and Quentin Richardson to a trade with New York) the Suns were not expected to repeat their successful 2005 season. However, because of Nash's leadership and the solid play of teammates Marion and Boris Diaw, the Suns remained one of the elite teams in the NBA. They again were the highest scoring team in the league with seven players averaging double figures in points per game. Nash was voted as a first-time starter for the 2006 Western All-Star team. On May 17 it was announced that Nash had been named to the All-NBA first team. Nash was widely viewed as an MVP candidate as the regular season came to a close. He set career highs in points (18.8), rebounds (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free throw percentage (a league-leading .921). While he shot the ball more than the previous year, he averaged a league-leading 10.5 assists per game. He also became the fourth player in NBA history to shoot better than 50% from the field, 40% from three-point range (43.9), and 90% from the line, joining Larry Bird, Reggie Miller and Mark Price. Along with Shawn Marion, Nash led the Suns to another Pacific Division title and 54 wins. He would later be awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian athlete of the year. Most Valuable Player 2006: Nash wins again The MVP award was announced by the NBA on May 7, 2006 to be Steve Nash for the second year in a row.[10] The official announcement came only a day after the Phoenix Suns (playing against the Lakers) became the eighth team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series. Nash is only the second point guard, along with Magic Johnson, to win the MVP award multiple times. Nash joined eight other NBA players with back-to-back MVP awards: Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan. International career Nash captained Canada men's national basketball team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. However, Canada won their final game of the tournament, a placement game against Russia, which enabled Canada to finish in 7th place, overall. Nash expressed disappointment in the result, saying "It hurts a lot. I feel like I let everybody down." Nevertheless, he did see a possible silver lining, saying "Hopefully kids [in Canada] will be inspired to play -- that's what I really hope. Nash again led Team Canada during an unsuccessful qualifying bid for the 2004 Summer Olympics. Nash was named tournament MVP,[12] but he admitted that he was disappointed that Canada did not qualify for the Olympics. Player profile Nash is the reigning winner of back-to-back MVP titles and seen as one of the premier point guards in the NBA. He led the league in assists in the last two consecutive seasons, averaging 11.5 assists per game in 2004-05 and 10.5 in the 2005-06 season. He is an adept ball handler, as evidenced by his victory in the 2005 NBA All-Star Skills Contest. He is a high percentage three-point shooter (over 42% lifetime average)[13] and is an outstanding free throw shooter: his lifetime average of 89.6% is third in NBA history.[14] Nash is also very effective playing the pick and roll as demonstrated with former Dallas teammate Dirk Nowitzki and later with the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. As a teammate, Nash is known for his playmaking abilities. This is best shown by his current stint with the Suns, where he helped the Suns improve from a 29-53 record in 2003-04 into a 62-20 record in 2004-05, reaching the Conference Finals for the first time in 11 years, which resulted in earning Nash his first MVP award. In the next season, Nash played a large role in leading Suns team into the Conference Finals, despite the injuries of all three big men Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant. Following the season, Nash was awarded his second MVP award. On May 11, 2006, ESPN.com rated Nash as the 9th greatest point guard of all time

TEAM 2
C- Todd Carlyle MacCulloch (born January 27, 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian former professional basketball player in the NBA. A Winnipeg, Manitoba native, the 7'0", 280 lb (2.13 m, 125 kg) center played four seasons in the NBA before being forced to retire prematurely due to a genetic neuromuscular disorder that affected his feet, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. In his first two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, MacCulloch played reserve center, averaging 9.4 minutes, 2.6 rebounds and just under 4 points in 56 and 63 games respectively from 1999 to 2001. In the 2001 off-season, he signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets and as their starting center averaged 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds a contest. MacCulloch was then traded back to the 76ers for the 2002-2003 season, in which he averaged just under 20 minutes, 7.1 points, and 4.7 rebounds a contest. He went on the injured reserve list at mid-season, did not play the following season, and announced his retirement in September 2004. MacCulloch played for the Canadian national team 93 times, most notably at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where the Canadians topped Yugoslavia to win their group only to lose to eventual silver medalist France in the quarterfinals and finish seventh. A graduate of Shaftesbury High School in Winnipeg, MacCulloch was in 1999 named Honorable Mention All-America as a senior at the University of Washington, when he averaged 18.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, and a .662 field goal percentage. He led the NCAA Division I in FGP in his final three years of college, only the second player ever to accomplish the feat. He was all-Pac Ten First Team selection in his final two years at Washington. He was drafted by the 76ers in the 2nd round of the 1999 NBA Draft. MacCulloch currently works as a 76ers color commentator. He is married to wife Jana.

F- Bobby Croft 6-foot-10 (Drafted by two professional leagues. Boston Celtics, 1970 NBA Draft, 123rd pick and played in the ABA. In fact, in his final year of collegiate b-ball at Tennessee, Boston Celtics legendary coach and GM Red Auerbach said that Croft "was the top pro prospect in the country (USA).

F - Michael Meeks 6-9 (Selected in the 1996 USBL Draft by New Hampshire after graduating from Buffalo’s Canisius College. A stellar pro career in Europe)

F- Gerald Kazanowksi 6-8 (Utah Jazz 1983 NBA Draft pick at 146th. Member of 1984 and 1988 Canadian Olympic teams)

G- Jay Triano 6-5 (LA Lakers made him the 179th pick in 1981 NBA Draft. Jay Triano (born September 21, 1958 in Tillsonburg, Ontario) is a Canadian Olympic basketball coach, NBA assistant coach, and former National basketball team player, who competed in three Summer Olympics, starting in 1980. As a student at Simon Fraser University, Triano held 11 school records including most career points with 2616. He was drafted in the later rounds of the 1981 NBA Draft by the LA Lakers. Triano was a national team player from 1978-90, captained the team from 1981-1988 and played in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. He led the Canadian team that won Gold at the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton, Alberta.After retiring as a player, he became head coach at his alma mater, Simon Fraser University. In 1995, when the Vancouver Grizzlies debuted, he became Director of Community Relations and worked as a colour commentator for local media.In 1999, Triano became the head coach of the Canadian national men's basketball team. He led them to a 5-2 record and 7th place finish in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Three years later, he became assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors, becomming the first Canadian-born coach in the NBA. He currently coaches the Georgian men's team concurrently with assistant-coaching the Raptors

G- Norman Henry Baker (February 17, 1923 – April 23, 1989) was a Canadian basketball and lacrosse player, voted Canada's top basketball player of the first half of the 20th century in a Canadian Press poll in December 1950. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Baker began playing basketball at age 10 for the Nanaimo Mosquitoes. At age 16 he joined the Victoria Dominoes and became the youngest player to be part of a Canadian senior national basketball championship team when the Dominoes won the national title in 1939. He won two more national titles with the Dominoes in 1942 and 1946. While serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was also a member of the 1943 national champion Pat Bay Gremlins, and scored a then-record 38 points in one game against the Windsor Patricks. Coming off a national title with the Dominoes, Baker turned professional in 1946 with the Chicago Stags of the newly-formed Basketball Association of America, forerunner of the National Basketball Association. He signed what he said was a $4,800 deal to play in Chicago after ignoring an invitation to join the Toronto Huskies. With the Stags, he wore jersey #16 and had to compete for a spot against all-star Max Zaslofsky under coach Harold Olsen. Baker appeared in just four games with the Stags. He spent most of the 1946-47 season with the Vancouver Hornets of the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League, finishing second in the league in scoring with 694 points in 37 games (18.8 points per game average). The Hornets finished with a record of 24-14 in the regular season and 6-6 in the playoffs. In April 1947, Baker played for the Portland Indians in the ninth annual World Professional Basketball Tournament. In the first round, the Indians lost 62-48 to the Sheboygan Redskins and were eliminated. The tournament was sponsored by the Chicago Herald-American newspaper and featured teams from various professional leagues. During the basketball off-season, Baker played lacrosse with the New Westminster Adanacs, winning the Mann Cup national championship in October 1947 with a three-game sweep of the Mimico Mountaineers. Rejoining thr Hornets for the 1947-48 PCPBL season, Baker led the league in scoring with a 22.6 points per game average. The team set a PCPBL record for most points in a game, scoring 97 against the Astoria Royal Chinooks on December 27, 1947. The Hornets' record dipped to 29-23 through the regular season. Returning to lacrosse, Baker and the Adanacs again made it to the Mann Cup in 1948, but lost to the Hamilton Tigers three games to two in a series played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. In 1950, Baker was the only non-American on a basketball team of college all-stars billed as “The Stars of the World” for a 13-nation tour of Europe and Africa playing against the Harlem Globetrotters. The Globetrotters won the 18-game series 11 games to seven, playing before a total of 181,364 fans. For two years, Baker played against the Globetrotters as a member of the travelling opponent teams the New York Celtics, Stars of America and Boston Whirlwinds. Following his basketball career, Baker worked as a police officer, and coached basketball and lacrosse. He died at age 66 in Victoria. Baker has been inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame (1966), Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1978), the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame (1979), and the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame (1993).

TEAM 4
C- Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10, 1981 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a professional basketball player who plays center with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Dalembert began playing in Montreal, Canada and played college basketball at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, US. He is an occasional double-double achiever for the Sixers and averages around 3 blocks per game - placing him among the league's elite in this category. He missed the entire 2003-04 season due to injuries. After a relatively productive 2004-05 season, his 2005-2006 season was plagued by more injuries, a diminished role (he lost his job as a starter to Steven Hunter even after returning from injury), and what the media and public perceived to be a decline in both his play and his attitude.Professional career Dalembert is normally described as a rebounder and shot-blocker. When playing together, he and Steven Hunter are sometimes referred to as the "Twin Towers"[citation needed] , a moniker previously applied to a number of famous front court duos, including Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson in the 1980s and Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the 1990s/2000s. Dalembert's detractors criticize him for being overpaid[citation needed] on account of the $52.6 million he will receive through the 2010-'11 season. They also point to his seemingly low "basketball IQ"[citation needed]. Dalembert fouled out of 9 of the 52 games he played during the 2005-06 season and had the dubious distinction of leading the league in goaltending, although this does speak to his aggressiveness at attempting to block shots. Dalembert is particularly regarded for his defense and his aggressive defense allows for some easy baskets on transitions. While his offensive skills may be limited, his defensive energy largely atones for this. Dalembert is now a Canadian citizen and Montrealer. On the January 15, 2007, Toronto Raptors broadcast, commentator and Canadian National Team coach Leo Rautins said that Dalembert would not play for Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Highlights- Ranked 26th in the NBA in 2006-07 with 23 double-doubles, 17 of which cam over the final 46 games. - Was the only Sixer to appear in all 82 games in 2006-07, marking the second time in his career he played in every game (2003-04). - Scored 20+ points three times in 2006-07, including a career-high tying 24 points (12-15 FGs) at WAS (3/28/07). - Over the final 50 games of the 2006-07 season, averaged 11.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.06 blocks after averaging 9.3 points, 7.8 boards and 1.75 blocks the first 32 games. - Became the fourth player in Sixers history to have 100+ blocks in four consecutive seasons, joining Julius Erving, Caldwell Jones and Darryl Dawkins. - Blocked 159 shots in 2006-07, ranking eighth in the NBA… also ranked 11th in blocks per game (1.94), 10th in field goal percentage (.541) and tied for 12th in rebounds per game (8.9). - On 4/15/07, recorded his 636th career block, surpassing Darryl Dawkins for the fifth most in franchise history.- Has the sixth most blocks of any player in the league since the start of the 2003-04 season

F - Greg Wiltjer 6-10 (Selected by Chicago, 1984 NBA Draft, 43rd pick. MVP of 1983-84 CIS championships while playing with Victoria.)

F- William Njoku 6-10 (41st pick of Indiana Pacers in 1994 NBA Draft after four-year CIS career at St. Mary’s. National team 1994-98)

G - Denham W. Brown (born January 6, 1983 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a former college basketball player for the UConn Huskies. He was selected in the second round (40th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.College In his senior year at UConn, he averaged 10.7 points, 1.3 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game. His season-high came against Villanova where he scored 23 points.In the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament, Denham Brown made a last-second lay-up to force overtime against George Mason. While in college, Denham's fans began calling him "The Darkness" because of his Wesley Snipes-like skin tone. Denham Brown was also a big time clutch performer, coming through in crunch time. NBA Brown was selected with the 40th pick in the 2nd round in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. After playing two preseason games with totals of eight points and five rebounds with the Sonics, he was waived by the team on October 26, 2006. However, the Tulsa 66ers subsequently used the eighth overall pick in the 2006 D-League Draft on Brown. In his first preseason game with the Supersonics, Brown scored 8 points in a winning effort against the Trail Blazers. After that game Brown saw little action for the Supersonics in the preseason appearing in just one game. He was playing extremely well in the D-League averaging close to 19 ppg for the Tulsa 66ers. Overseas Denham Brown left the Tulsa 66ers of the NBDL recently, and is currently playing in a pro league in Turkey. The team he plays for is the Galatasaray Cafecrown Istanbul. edit] National Team Brown has extensive experience playing on the Canadian national men's basketball team. He first made the team in 2003 when he was on the roster for the FIBA Americas Qualification Tournament. At the FIBA Tournament he played in ten games, starting none of them; but he averaged 12.4 points per game (ppg), 4.2 rebounds per game (rpg), an assist, and 20 minutes per game (mpg). Then in 2004 he was on the roster for the Four Nations Tournament. At that tournament he upped his scoring average to 13.8 ppg, while starting all six games and averaging 23.3 mpg, 5.3 rpg, and 1.3 apg. Again, in 2005 Brown was on the Senior Men's National Team. Unfortunately for Team Canada Basketball Denham spent his time making the NBA this summer and did not participate on the 2006 Canadian Senior Men's National Team.

G- Mickey Fox 6-0 (Detroit, 1975 NBA Draft, 169th pick and then Portland, 1979 NBA Draft, 56th pick. A CIS legend who has contributed to basketball in Halifax for more than 25 years)

TEAM 5

C - Jim Zoet 7-1 A member of the 1980 Canadian Olympic (also national team member 1977-80 and 1990) Zoet played only seven games with the Detroit Pistons (1982-83) but went on to globetrot his talents professionally in Holland, England, Argentina, Mexico and the Philippines. Nearly made it to the show surviving to the last cuts at the Atlanta Hawks' training camp in 1982. Split his college career with time in the USA (Kent State University) and Canada (Lakehead University) Not Drafted

F - Romel Raffin (Penn State University/Calgary member of 4 Canadian Olympic teams b-ball teams 1976-1988. Played two years pro ball Italy and one in Venezuela) :

F – Phil Tollestrup 6-7 (member of the national team from 1971-79 was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in 1973 with 211th pick)

G – Carl English (born on the 2nd February, 1981 in St. Bride's, Newfoundland, Canada) is a basketball shooting guard. In the 2003-2004 basketball season, he played for the Charleston Lowgators of the NBA D-League. In the 2004-2005 basketball season, English followed the franchise to Florida as it became the Florida Flame. Then, in the 2005-2006 season, went to Italy as Virtus Bologna enrolled him to play in Italy's top basketball league. He was released after 25 games, averaging 19.9 minutes and 7.6 points-per-game. In the 2006-2007 season he has been playing for KK Zadar from Croatia.English graduated and played college basketball for the Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors. He stands 6'5" tall and weighs 205 pounds.

G - Rowan Barrett 6-5 (Graduated from St. John's University in 1996)

HONOURABLE MENTION

C - Ron Crevier 7-0 A lackluster three-year career at Boston College (1980-83) was followed by lackluster three games in the NBA (1985-86). The lanky 7-footer totaled four minutes. Pro highlight was his third place ranking in the blocked shots category, 1.6 per game, while playing for the 1986 United States Basketball League’s (U.S.B.L.) Springfield Flame. Also played with Jim Zoet on the 1983 edition of the Toronto Tornadoes of the Continental Basketball Association (C.B.A.)  Drafted by: Chicago, 1983 NBA Draft, 75th pick overal

F - Bob Houbregs 6-foot-8 (Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee 1987. Played five NBA seasons – 1953-58 - Milwaukee Hawks, Baltimore Bullets, Boston Celtics, Fort Wayne Pistons and Detroit Pistons. Drafted by Milwaukee 1953 NBA first round pick. First Canadian-born as such…not Leo Rautins as usually stated. NCAA Player of the Year 1953) * Left Canada as a kid so does not rank a higher ranking.

F-  Ernie Vandeweghe Nicknamed Doc, Vandeweghe may be better known as father of shooting forward Kiki Vandeweghe (racked up nearly 16,000 NBA regular season points 1980-1993). Montreal home for short while playing is high school ball at Oceanside, NY and then Colgate University. One of the top shooters during his short NBA career. Drafted by: New York, 1949 BAA Draft, 29th overall * Left Canada as a kid so does not rank a higher ranking.

F - Wayne Yearwood 6-7 (born September 22, 1964 in Montreal, Quebec) is a former professional and Olympic basketball player from Canada, who was with the Canadian national team. He played for Team Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, along with his friend and teammate Dwight Walton, and played seven years with the Canadian national team along with Steve Nash for several years, and eight years playing professionally in Europe. Yearwood is currently the head basketball coach for the men's AAA team at Dawson College in Montreal. Yearwood played college basketball in Canada at Dawson College in Montreal, with friends and teammates Dwight Walton and Trevor C. Williams. In the United States he played NCAA Division I college basketball at West Virginia University.

G- Dwight Walton (born March 25, 1965 in Montreal, Québec) is a former basketball player from Canada, who played at Dawson College in Montreal with teammates Trevor C. Williams, Wayne Yearwood and Boyd Bailey. He later would go on to join the Canadian National Team.Before Dawson college Dwight Walton play basketball at Wagar High School in Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec. After starring at Dawson College and receiving All-Canadian Honours he went on to become an All-American at the Florida Institute of Technology, an NCAA Division II basketball program, after starring at NCAA Division I Siena College.In the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, he played on the Canadian national team with longtime friend, who is also from Montréal, Wayne Yearwood. He later went on to play in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and with the Montreal Dragons of the now defuncted National Basketball League. In 1993, he played basketball on the Canadian national team with a little known 18 year old from Victoria, British Columbia, by the name of Steve Nash, now a two-time NBA MVP. Walton went on to play professionally in Israel, France, and Switzerland before returning to Montreal to play for the Montreal Matrix of the American Basketball Association (A.B.A.), during the 2005-2006 season. While playing for the Matrix he simultaneously coached the Midget Boys basketball team at John F. Kennedy high school, located in the St. Michel district of east end Montréal.

C - Greg Newton (born September 7, 1974 in Niagara Falls, Ontario) was center for the Duke Blue Devils basketball team from 1994-1997. Newton was Team Captain in his senior season. He was a member of the Canadian National Team, that finished seventh in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, AustraliaNewton averaged 7.6 points per game for his career. When Tim Duncan was told that Newton had called him soft, he cited Newton's dubious credentials and facetiously asked how anyone could argue with that. "Greg Newton's everybody's All-American."Newton was suspended from Duke in 1995 for cheating on a computer science exam.Newton played professionally with the USBL's Raleigh Cougars. The Cougars promoted him by citing his greatest accomplishment - at the time, he was one away from Duke's top 10 in blocks.Newton also played professionally in Brazil, Israel, and Bosnia.

F - Denham W. Brown (born January 6, 1983 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a former college basketball player for the UConn Huskies. He was selected in the second round (40th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.College In his senior year at UConn, he averaged 10.7 points, 1.3 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game. His season-high came against Villanova where he scored 23 points.In the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament, Denham Brown made a last-second lay-up to force overtime against George Mason. While in college, Denham's fans began calling him "The Darkness" because of his Wesley Snipes-like skin tone. Denham Brown was also a big time clutch performer, coming through in crunch time. NBA Brown was selected with the 40th pick in the 2nd round in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. After playing two preseason games with totals of eight points and five rebounds with the Sonics, he was waived by the team on October 26, 2006. However, the Tulsa 66ers subsequently used the eighth overall pick in the 2006 D-League Draft on Brown. In his first preseason game with the Supersonics, Brown scored 8 points in a winning effort against the Trail Blazers. After that game Brown saw little action for the Supersonics in the preseason appearing in just one game. He was playing extremely well in the D-League averaging close to 19 ppg for the Tulsa 66ers. Overseas Denham Brown left the Tulsa 66ers of the NBDL recently, and is currently playing in a pro league in Turkey. The team he plays for is the Galatasaray Cafecrown Istanbul. edit] National Team Brown has extensive experience playing on the Canadian national men's basketball team. He first made the team in 2003 when he was on the roster for the FIBA Americas Qualification Tournament. At the FIBA Tournament he played in ten games, starting none of them; but he averaged 12.4 points per game (ppg), 4.2 rebounds per game (rpg), an assist, and 20 minutes per game (mpg). Then in 2004 he was on the roster for the Four Nations Tournament. At that tournament he upped his scoring average to 13.8 ppg, while starting all six games and averaging 23.3 mpg, 5.3 rpg, and 1.3 apg. Again, in 2005 Brown was on the Senior Men's National Team. Unfortunately for Team Canada Basketball Denham spent his time making the NBA this summer and did not participate on the 2006 Canadian Senior Men's National Team.

Gino Sovran (born December 17, 1924) is a former National Basketball Association player. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Sovran attended Kennedy Collegiate Institute and was a top basketball player at Assumption College, scoring more than 1,000 points over three seasons, and playing as team captain in the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons. He played for University of Detroit Mercy in 1945-46 where he was the team's leading scorer. Sovran then returned to the Assumption team to help it win the Ontario and Eastern Canada senior basketball championships in 1946 before losing to the Victoria Dominoes for the national title. From there, Sovran joined the newly-formed Toronto Huskies professional team that competed in the Basketball Association of America (which later evolved into the National Basketball Association). Along with former Assumption teammate Hank Biasatti, he was one of two Canadians to play for the Huskies in their first and only season in 1946-47. Sovran was signed by the Huskies about two weeks into the season, making his professional debut on November 22, 1946 against the Boston Celtics. He appeared in six games. Sovran was also a competitive track and field athlete, setting regional records in the high jump and triple jump while a student. He has been inducted into the University of Windsor Alumni Sports Hall of Fame (1997) and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame (2002). Away from sports, Sovran earned a doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota and worked as a research engineer for General Motors.

F -  John Hatch 6-7

F - Carl Ridd 6-5

F - Barry Mungar 6-8

G - Billy Robinson 5-11

G - Karl Tilleman 6-2

G- Tony Simms 6-5

G - Martin Riley 5-11

G - Sherman Hamilton 6-0

G - Howard Kelsey 6-0