TORONTO (Canada) - Canada will be entertaining and formidable when they run onto the court at the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024.
That is a certainty following the country's announcement of a glittering list of players in the 20-man squad.
Jordi Fernandez's roster has so much star power that most observers will concede Canada have a great shot at reaching the podium as they make their first Olympic appearance since 2000.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dillon Brooks, Lu Dort, RJ Barrett, Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynnyk, Jamal Murray, Andrew Nembhard and Andrew Wiggins are good bets to make the final roster although coach Fernandez will make that judgment after the team's training camp and preparation games.
Gilgeous-Alexander is, in fact, a lock. He was in the All-Star Five at the World Cup after averaging 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists, and was one of the top three players in the NBA this past season with Oklahoma City.
Some like Melvin Ejim and Phil Scrubb will have strong claims for a spot on the team after not only turning out repeatedly for the national team the past several years but also contributing to last year's World Cup success in Jakarta and Manila.
Canada won six of their eight games at the World Cup, and defeated very good teams. Canada didn't just beat France on opening day, but did so by 30 points!
After that 95-65 rout, Canada blew out Lebanon (128-73) and surprise package Latvia (101-75), who ended up fifth in the 32-team tournament. Fernandez's team also overcame Spain (88-85), Slovenia (100-89) and the USA (127-118) in the Third-Place Game. The only blemishes were a 69-65 setback to Brazil in the Second Round and a 95-86 loss to Serbia in the Semi-Finals.
Canada's performance in the tournament, coupled with the expected inclusion of even more talent, begs one very legitimate question. Is Canada the team to beat at the Olympics?
The appreciation factor for Andrew Nembhard has skyrocketed after these performances for the Indiana Pacers this season, especially in the post-season. The point guard has also logged a lot of minutes for Canada over the years, including at the 2019 World Cup.
Jamal Murray hasn't played for Canada since helping them win the 2015 Pan American Games. Yet he is also one of the best players in the NBA, a champion with the Denver Nuggets.
When Wiggins last played for Canada, it was at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria, where he averaged 21.7 points per game. With Golden State this season, Wiggins averaged 13.2 points but did not have, by his own admission, a good season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray and Andrew Wiggins: A scary vision for any opponent in the World!
"I feel like I started picking it up the second half of the season, but the first half wasn't too good," he said in his end-of-season interview with the media two months ago.
Fernandez has numerous options, and a lot to consider regarding team chemistry. What will give Canada the best chance to have success in France?
O'Shae Brissett is in the squad, fresh off winning the NBA title with Boston. Khem Birch, another player with NBA experience who played for Basket Girona this season in Spain, is appealing. Birch is capable of dominating a game in the low post. Against Baskonia in a Spanish league game on May 5, Birch had 21 points and 14 rebounds. He had the highest efficiency per game of 17.8 for Canada at the 2019 World Cup.
Then there is Zach Edey, the NCAA Player of the Year at Purdue. Is he going to make the team? He was in last year's side at the World Cup. Edey possesses something that no one else does in the Canada team, and that's enought size at 2.24m (7ft 4in) in height. He is 22 and will be a rookie in the NBA.
Rowan Barrett, who was in the last Canada team to play at the Olympics in 2000 and serves as General Manager/Executive Vice-President, Senior Men's Program for Canada Basketball, paid tribute to all the players that have helped Canada make it back to the Games.
"This journey began in February 2020 with the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers, and I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all our players, coaches and support staff across multiple teams, competition windows and tournaments that were instrumental in us getting to this point," he said.
Fernandez, meanwhile, didn't discuss specific players in the news release but rather addressed the need for Canada to play better than they did at the World Cup.
"While winning bronze at the World Cup last summer was an important first step for our team, it also showed that we still have work to do as a group," he said.
"If you ask anyone within our team and program, we have a constant drive to improve and will work tirelessly throughout training camp and our exhibition schedule to fully prepare to achieve our ultimate goal at the Paris Olympics."
That goal, especially with the talent in the squad, is probably to win the gold medal. But in what is shaping up to be the most competitive Olympics of all time, it will taken an extraordinary effort by any team to reach the top of the podium in Paris.
FIBA