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Aaron Best drafted by NBA G League’s Long Island Nets, traded to Raptors 905

By Sports Staff

Aaron Best, one of the greatest Ryerson Rams basketball players of all time, is one step closer to making the NBA.

Best, the electrifying swingman who in 2016 led Ryerson to their first of two consecutive OUA championships, was selected by the Brooklyn Nets’ farm team, the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League.

As if being drafted wasn’t enough, Long Island then traded the former Rams star to the Raptors 905, the G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, only a few hours after the Nets picked him 42nd overall.

The 25-year-old Scarborough native is the first Ryerson player to ever make the NBA’s version of the minor leagues, and if he does eventually crack an NBA roster, he would become the first CIS/U Sports alumnus to make the leap to the world’s top basketball league since 1983, when Jim Zoet, a former Lakehead player, suited up for the Detroit Pistons for seven games.

From 2011 to 2016, Best wowed Ryerson fans with thundering dunks, clutch shooting, and strong drives to the hoop, all done with an unassuming air of confidence and modesty. The six-foot-four guard won The Eyeopener Rookie of the Year award in 2011, and after graduating in 2016 he signed his first professional contract, a two-year deal with Juventus in the Lithuanian Division 1 League.

The prospect of making the jump to the NBA is no doubt an exciting one for both Best and the Rams. Ryerson’s men’s basketball program has undergone a massive resurgence in recent years under Roy Rana’s tutelage. During Best’s time at Ryerson, they reached two consecutive national championship tournaments and earned a pair of bronze medals.

To be drafted to the G League is an accomplishment in itself. To make the NBA down the road would be an historic honour for one of Ryerson’s greatest athletes.

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