Ex-Cleveland Cavaliers draft pick Anthony Bennett remains confident in professional exile

Anthony Bennett is attempting to prove a lot of doubters wrong. He believes he can make contributions on a championship club.

Okay, so he’s playing with teammates named Nikola Kalinic and Bogdan Bogdanovic and not LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Regardless, Bennett, the first Canadian to be drafted first overall in the NBA draft, played a role in Fenerbahce’s 80-64 victory over Olympiacos on Sunday. It was the team’s first Euroleague title.

For now, Bennett can forget his rude introduction to professional life in North America.

Bennett’s four-year slide through the NBA ranks was sudden and often difficult to watch. In 2011, ESPNU rated Bennett the country’s top high school forward. Signing with UNLV as a prized recruit, Bennett intended to be a one-and-done student-athlete. According to plan, he departed after averaging 16.1 points during his lone season in Sin City.

The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Bennett No. 1 overall in 2013. Immediately, questions arose. After a difficult rookie season, with value still attached to his scouting report, the Cavs’ front office acted swiftly and jettisoned Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The three-team deal netted the Cavs Kevin Love.

Bennett’s stay in Minnesota lasted less than a year. He then signed a deal with his hometown Toronto Raptors. His stint with the Raptors was equally uninspiring. After spending the first half of the season with the Raptors’ D-League squad, he was let go Feb. 29, 2016.

Off to Turkey he went.

While Bennett only averaged 1.3 points during his first nine appearances with Fenerbahce, according to CBSSports.com, he remains confident he will soon have “the last laugh. I just turned 24-years-old, lot of time left.”

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Bennett seems to be focused on making it back to the NBA but there is still plenty of on-court work to do in changing the perception of him and his game. The clock is ticking.