Kelly Olynyk

Kelly Tyler Olynyk (born April 19, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player. He is a power forward-center for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Toronto, Ontario and moved to Kamloops, British Columbia when he was in grade 7.

Career
College
Olynyk played college basketball at Gonzaga University. During his freshman and sophomore years there, Olynyk averaged 12 to 13 minutes per game and was mainly a bench player. During his junior year, Olynyk and Gonzaga both agreed that he would redshirt. He played in the 2012–13 season and was selected for both the Consensus First-Team All-American and the 2012–13 Academic All-America first team.

NBA
Olynyk was selected 13th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2013 NBA draft. The same day, the Mavericks traded Olynyk to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Lucas Nogueira and two future second round picks. During his first summer league game, he scored 25 points with 9-of-13 shooting. He signed his rookie scale contract with the Celtics on July 7, 2013.

On October 29, 2014, the Celtics extended Olynyk's rookie scale contract through the 2015–16 season after exercising their third-year team option. On December 15, 2014, Olynyk scored a career-high 30 points in a 105-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

During the first quarter of Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, Olynyk got tangled with Cleveland Cavaliers player Kevin Love while battling for a loose ball and dislocated Love's left shoulder. Love called it a "bush-league play" and Olynyk said that he would "never intentionally hurt someone." The league suspended Olynyk for one game without pay and ruled that he had "yanked [Love's] arm down".

On September 26, 2022, Olynyk was traded to the Utah Jazz.

On February 8, 2024, Olynyk was traded along with Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Kira Lewis Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and a first-round draft pick. On March 4, Olynyk signed a multi-year contract to stay with the Raptors.

On February 6, 2025, the Raptors traded Olynyk along with Bruce Brown and draft picks to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Brandon Ingram.

National team
Olynyk plays for the Canada men's national basketball team. He was the captain of the Canadian team during the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023. During the tournament, he helped Canada defeat France, Germany, and World champions Spain to help Canada clinch a spot in the Olympics for the first time since 2000. Canada would defeat the United States to win the bronze medal. It was Canada's first international medal since 1936.

References

Other websites

Category:1991 births
Category:Living people
Category:Boston Celtics players
Category:Canadian basketball players
Category:Centers (basketball)
Category:Detroit Pistons players
Category:Houston Rockets players
Category:Miami Heat players
Category:New Orleans Pelicans players
Category:Power forwards
Category:Sportspeople from British Columbia
Category:Sportspeople from Toronto
Category:Toronto Raptors players
Category:Utah Jazz players