Nik Stauskas has been on a journey since he was a teenager to find a basketball home. The Philadelphia 76ers may offer him just that.
Nik Stauskas has been on a journey. A journey to find a basketball home. He’s been on that journey since he was a high schooler in Canada, and now his home may have been found with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Due to the lack of NBA or college recruitment in Canada, Stauskas packed his things and moved away from home partway through his high school career to play at a school in America. He left much of his family behind in the process, all to reach his goal of getting into the NBA. The transition from living so close to his family to living in another country was hard for Nik, as it would be on any teenager.
“My mom called me and she had mentioned that my grandmother had been getting sick… I missed my family a lot… After I got off the phone I started crying because I was fearful I was going through all of this… and still wasn’t going to achieve my dream,” Nik said.
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Homesickness is an awful feeling, and Nik had to go through this in order to get where he is today. Due to this, Nik grew up fast, and had big goals set for himself from a young age.
Stauskas remembers having a realization after that phone call saying he was afraid he would go through “all of that pain, all of that agony, and not get anything out of it.” He vowed from that point on to make it his life’s mission to reach the NBA, and make the pain and agony of being away from his family worth it in the end.
His trial has been one of finding a home. Not necessarily a literal one — although he has had to move several times — but a home for his basketball skills.
After two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines, Stauskas entered the NBA Draft, and was taken in the lottery by the Sacramento Kings. His goal was finally turning into a reality, and he looked to finally get that home he had been looking for. Nik had to give up his comfortable lifestyle living close to family in Canada, but it looked as if that pain and agony was finally going to pay off as he was finally an NBA player.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t hold true. Nik struggled in his first NBA season. Nik played just about 15 minutes per game for the Kings, averaging 4.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists on 32.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc. A system that forced him to take shots he wasn’t comfortable with left him with little minutes and not much scoring.
Over his first offseason, Nik was forced to relocate to Philadelphia after a salary dump trade by the Kings brought him to the Sixers. He had to play in his second consecutive Summer League in addition to playing for Team Canada that summer.
Nik looked to find a home in Philly both on the court and off. Nik looked to become the sharpshooter he was supposed to become in an offensive system that wouldn’t force him to take shots he didn’t want to.
For Stauskas, being comfortable has always been an issue. Moving away from home was uncomfortable. Being in Sacramento was uncomfortable. Even on Team Canada over the summer, Stauskas looked like he wasn’t all that comfortable until late in games. It took him a while to get into his rhythm.
Coming onto the Sixers, Stauskas again looked uncomfortable. He was timid in the beginning of the season, clearly not confident in his jump shot. In all of 2015, Nik was averaging 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 28.6 percent from beyond the arc and 34.5 percent from the field. He had an offensive rating of just 86 and a defensive rating of 111.
But as the season progressed, and as the Sixers got a real point guard in Ish Smith — which took some stress off of everyone in the backcourt — Stauskas got comfortable, and showed that that alone could improve him as an NBA player. In 2016, so far, Stauskas is averaging 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 38.6 percent from beyond the arc and 43.2 percent from the field (all improvements compared to the 2015 leg of this season).
He has put up an improved offensive rating but not defensive rating. His offensive rating has been 103, but his defensive rating went all the way up to 117.
Nik has looked more comfortable and is being accepted more by Sixers fans every time he steps on the floor. While there’s a lot of question about who will stick around for this rebuild, there doesn’t seem to be much of a question with Nik — he’s a Sixer.
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This journey for Nik that all started when he was just a teenager feels like it’s finally getting some closure. It feels like Philly is right for Nik, and it feels like Nik is right for the future of Philly. I can’t wait to see what next season has in store for him.