Dillon Brooks steals the show in NBA debut with Grizzlies
Dillon Brooks, playing with a chip on his shoulder, put the rest of the rookie class on notice.
The 21-year-old Mississauga, ON native played 29 minutes off the bench and poured in 19 points, five rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks in his NBA debut. Brooks’s huge performance on Wednesday night helped the Grizzlies take down the Pelicans 103-91.
Brooks’s 19 points was the most ever by a Canadian-born player in their NBA debut. The previous high was set by Rick Fox when he scored 13 points for the Boston Celtics in 1991. This was also the most points scored by a Grizzlies rookie in their NBA debut since Rudy Gay scored 21 points in 2006.
The No. 45 overall pick in the June draft outscored the entire Pelicans bench on his own(8). Brooks went 7/13 from the field and 5/7 from the charity stripe.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Brooks said, “I was just staying aggressive and taking the shots as they come. It was really fun, especially with these guys. They made it feel like home, and they never got at me for a shot I took.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY7ZHS-gabA
Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins and the new look Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the San Antonio Spurs 107-99.
Fresh off signing a huge 5 year, $148M contract extension, the former No. 1 overall pick scored a game high 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting and 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Wiggins played 30 minutes and was able to come away with five boards and one assist.
The Vaughan, ON native also became the 8th youngest player in NBA history to reach 5,000 points at 22-years-old.
Cory Joseph
Joseph made his NBA debut with the Indiana Pacers after being traded by the Raptors in the offseason and got off to a solid start with his new team.
Joseph put up eleven points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block in 25 minutes of action off the bench in a 140-131 win against the Nets.
Kelly Olynyk
Olynyk also had a good debut for his new team. The Toronto, ON native signed with the Miami Heat and jumped into the starting lineup for their opening game.
Olynyk scored ten points in the Heat loss. He also added five rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.
Jamal Murray
It seems the Jamal Murray era in Denver has officially begun. Murray was announced as the starting point guard for the Nuggets season opener moving Emmanuel Mudiay to the bench.
Murray struggled slightly playing only 20 minutes, scoring eight points. He added two rebounds and two assists in the loss.
Dwight Powell
Powell’s work in the offseason on shooting the three seems to be paying off. The Mavericks big man scored six points in 14 minutes knocking down two three-balls. The Toronto, ON native added one block and one steal in the Dallas loss.
