With the 45th selection overall of the 2017 NBA Draft the Houston Rockets made Dillon Brooks NBA dream a reality by drafting the Mississauga, Ontario phenom making him the 13th Canadian basketball player taken since 2011.
Brooks’ rights were quickly acquired by the Memphis Grizzlies where he will fit right in with head coach David Fizdale’s plan to increase the pace.
The University of Oregon’s 6’7″, 225-pounds standout was the leading scorer in the Ducks Juggernaut offense, averaging 16.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds good enough to earning Pac-12 Player of the Year and various national honors as the Ducks made their first Final Four appearance since 1939.
The Canadian burst on the scene in 2012 after leading the Father Henry Carr basketball program to silver medal at the annual provincial high school championships. Brooks later took his game south of the border for his lone season at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada before committing to Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks in 2014.
Other notable highlights included his coming of age party at the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Colorado Springs where Brooks led the tournament in scoring (25.5 PPG) and dropped a sensational 27 points and 8 rebounds performance in a championship loss to one of the most stacked USA youth squads in recent memory. Myles Turner, Jaylen Brown, Stanley Johnson, Justin Winslow, Luke Kennard and list goes one.
