He and fellow Future NBA player Cory Joseph were both on a Scarborough Blues club team that rarely lost in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
One defeat came against rival Toronto 5–0, led by Stephen Curry.
Olynyk moved to Kamloops, British Columbia when he was in grade 7.
Olynyk did not attend a high school or prep school in the United States; he instead stayed home at South Kamloops Secondary School, exposing himself to U.S. competition and coaches while playing on provincial teams – competing at Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and non-AAU tournaments in the States – and the Canadian junior national team.
He attended St. Mary's Secondary in Hamilton, Ontario while playing for Canada's national program.
Olynyk developed as a point guard, continuing to play the position even after growing from 6'3" (1.90 m) to 6'10" (2.08 m) in grade 11.
Olynyk was heavily recruited out of high school by the likes of Syracuse, Providence and North Carolina State.
He chose Gonzaga in part so he could play closer to home.
Olynyk was named the Basketball BC outstanding high school player of the year in his grade 12 year, leading his South Kamloops Titans to a 36–2 record and a third-place finish at the BC AAA High School Boys' Basketball Championships.
1991
Kelly Tyler Olynyk (born April 19, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
2007
Olynyk was also a quarterback for the Titans when he was in high school and broke his arm during a playoff game in 2007.
2009
Olynyk played college basketball at Gonzaga from 2009 to 2013.
He was mostly a bench player for the Bulldogs in his freshman and sophomore years, averaging around 12 to 13 minutes per game.
2011
In order to improve his game and get stronger, Gonzaga and Olynyk agreed that he would redshirt his junior year (2011–12), meaning he would practice with the team, but not play.
2012
Olynyk returned to the Bulldogs lineup for the first game of the 2012–13 season, and had a great season, being selected as a Consensus First-Team All-American, as well as to the 2012–13 Academic All-America first team.
Following the 2012–13 season he opted for the NBA draft, thereby forgoing his senior year of eligibility (though by that time he had already received his bachelor's degree in accounting).
2013
He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he earned NCAA All-American honours in 2013.
After forgoing his senior year of college basketball, Olynyk was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2013 NBA draft, before being immediately traded to the Boston Celtics.
In a draft-night swap, Olynyk was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 13th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft and then traded to the Boston Celtics for the rights to Lucas Nogueira and two Future second round picks.
On July 7, 2013, Olynyk signed his rookie scale contract with the Celtics.
After averaging 8.7 points and 5.2 rebounds in 70 games in 2013–14, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie second team.
2014
Olynyk was selected alongside teammate Jared Sullinger on Team Webber for the 2014 Rising Stars Challenge.
On October 29, 2014, the Celtics exercised their third-year team option on Olynyk's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season.
On December 15, 2014, he scored a career-high 30 points in a 105–87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
2015
On January 22, 2015, he injured his ankle after landing on the foot of Thomas Robinson in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' 90–89 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
After being projected to return soon after the All-Star break, Olynyk didn't show signs of being ready to return, and subsequently missed 18 games.
He returned to action on March 4 against the Utah Jazz.
In game 4 of the first round of the 2015 NBA playoffs, against the Cleveland Cavaliers, while grappling, he injured Kevin Love's shoulder.
Love did not play the rest of the 2015 playoffs.
Olynyk missed the Celtics' 2015–16 season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 28 after being suspended for his role in Kevin Love's left shoulder injury during the 2015 playoffs.
On December 11, 2015, he scored a season-high 28 points in a 124–119 double overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors.
2016
Two days later, the Celtics exercised their fourth-year team option on Olynyk's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.
On March 16, 2016, he returned to action for the Celtics after missing the previous 12 games with an injured right shoulder.
Olynyk missed the first six games of the 2016–17 season after undergoing right shoulder surgery in May 2016, and subsequently spent a day with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League in early November.
2017
In July 2017, he signed with the Miami Heat, with whom he reached the NBA Finals in 2020.
In March 2021, Olynyk was traded to the Houston Rockets.
He signed with the Pistons in August of the same year.
He was traded to the Utah Jazz in 2022 and to the Toronto Raptors in 2024.
He also plays for the Canadian national team.
Olynyk was born in Toronto, where he started playing basketball at an early age.
