5 best Canadian basketball players ever
By Nam Tran
3. Rick Fox
Though Rick Fox spent the majority of his life living in the Bahamas and the United States, he was born in Canada and has a Canadian Citizenship. In 1969, he was born in Toronto, Ontario. His family moved to the Bahamas when he was still young.
Fox is one of the more well-known Canadian basketball players because of his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. He achieved many things during his 13-year NBA career, one of them being winning the NBA championship title three times in a row and being a vital player for the team while doing so.
Fox, who was not the Lakers’ go-to guy, helped the team to a 3-peat by doing whatever they needed. When the Lakers needed some scoring, Fox put up some points. When the Lakers needed some playmaking, Fox dished out some assists. But his main job with the team was to lock down the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer with tough, agitating defense. As for the offensive end, his main duty was to get open and make 3s. He was also an important piece in the Lakers’ triangle offense because of his good perimeter shooting and passing.
In 2004, Fox retired from the NBA. He played a total of 930 games and tallied 8,966 points. He holds career averages of 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. As for the Lakers’ 3-peat run, Fox averaged 7.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in those three postseasons.
In addition to playing in the NBA, Fox also showed his Canadian pride by representing Canada twice at the FIBA World Championships in 1990 and 1994. The Canadian team took 12th place in 1990, where Fox averaged 12.2 points per game. At the 1994 tournament, Fox helped Team Canada improve to 7th place by averaging 16.2 points and 4.9 assists.