Players with NBL Canada connections make NBA D-League rosters

Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/supermanjohnson/

Multiple players with connections to the National Basketball League of Canada will be taking their talents to the NBA Development League this season.

Alex Johnson, Negus Webster-Chan, Lewis Jackson, Maurice Bolden and Justin Johnson are all playing in the NBA D-League, which started its season last night:

I am personally thrilled when a young man uses our league to help fulfill a dream," said NBL Canada commissioner David Magley in an emailed statement. "In the D-League, you are on the NBA's radar and that's huge for guys holding that vision."

Alex ‘Superman’ Johnson, a former first pick in the NBL Canada draft, is playing for the Grand Rapids Drive this season after spending two seasons in the league. He is entering the Detroit Pistons system after averaging 5.1 points per game, 2.7 assists per game and 2.1 rebounds per game in 48 combined appearances with the Halifax Hurricanes and the Windsor Express in 2015-16.

Webster-Chan will still be playing north of the border with the Raptors 905. He had started his professional career with the Hurricanes last season before being released by the franchise March 11. The Missouri Tigers product had appeared in 12 games where he averaged 1.5 points per game, two rebounds per game and 1.4 assists per game.

Jackson, who played last year for the Orangeville A’s, has joined the Erie BayHawks. In his first NBLC season, he averaged 13 points per game, 7.7 assists per game and three rebounds per game in 24 appearances. He had played for the BayHawks – the Orlando Magic D-League affiliate – during the 2013-14 season. He also played for two different D-League clubs in 2014-15 before joining the A’s.

Bolden, who had been drafted by the Austin Spurs 18th overall in the D-League draft last month, officially made his roster. The six-foot-ten, 200-pound big man averaged 10.1 points per game, just under two assists per game and about seven rebounds per game last season with the Express. He had also played two years with the London Lightning.

Lastly, Justin Johnson, who played for the Hurricanes last season, is returning to the D-League for a fourth year with the Canton Charge, the Cleveland Cavaliers affiliate. He had 17.4 points per game, 4.3 assists per game and 3.7 rebounds per game last season with Halifax. He had played with the Charge during the 2014-15 D-League season as well.

Fans can still get to see these five players in-person when the 2017 NBA D-League Showcase, which is being hosted by the 905 in Mississauga, Ont. this year, comes to the Hershey Centre Jan. 18-22, 2017.

The games are also being broadcast this season on Facebook Live.