Anthony Bennett made Canadian basketball history Thursday, becoming the first player from north of the border to be selected first overall in the NBA draft.
The Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the league by selecting the UNLV freshman forward, who has starred for Canada's junior national team and was the Mountain West Conference player of the year.
Tristan Thompson of Brampton was selected No. 4 by the Cavaliers in the 2011 draft, making him the highest Canadian draft pick before Thursday. Teen phenom Andrew Wiggins of Thornhill, Ont., who'll play for Kansas next season, is projected to go first overall in the 2014 draft.
There was suspense right until the end, either because the Cavs were unsure who they wanted or were trying to trade the pick. Most predictions had them taking one of the big men Nerlens Noel and Alex Len.
Orlando passed on both of them, too, going with Indiana swingman Victor Oladipo with the No. 2 pick. Washington took Otto Porter Jr. of Georgetown with the third pick.
Bennett has been sidelined since having rotator cuff surgery in May, and didn't participate in the draft combine or any pre-draft workouts. The 20-year-old clearly impressed in his interviews _ he interviewed for the top five teams in the draft _ and his play in college last season.
Bennett had surgery a few weeks after the Runnin' Rebels were upset in the second round of March Madness in a 64-61 loss to California, but said Wednesday he wasn't concerned the injury would hurt his chances in the draft. He was bang on.
Ten years after the Cavaliers selected LeBron James to start a draft that would include his future NBA championship teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the top five, this one lacked the star power and perhaps the promise of stardom.
Noel and Len are also coming off injuries and couldn't work out for teams either.