The Rise of Canadian Basketball
By Distributel
We’re back at the Olympics. It’s a big deal. The Canadian men’s basketball team hasn’t been in this position since the year 2000. And we haven’t won a medal since 1936. What’s going on? And how did we get here?
Tough History
The last time the Canadian men’s team reached the Olympic podium, it was 1936. We won a silver medal. After that, it was a long, tough slog. We came in fourth in 1976, at the Montreal Olympics. We made it to fourth again in 1984 at the LA Olympics. And the last time we were a threat was in 2000, when the best Canadian ball player in the world, Steve Nash, led the Canadian men to the quarterfinals only to be defeated by France who would go on to win a silver medal.
Rebuilding
In basketball, stars can lead teams to glory—but Team USA is full of stars. On top of that, the Americans have a massive talent pool and organization structures that help foster talent and turn them into future stars. In the wake of our last Olympic appearance, Canadians took the time to integrate basketball programs across the country and tried to build the kinds of organization needed to foster talent. Steve Nash, who transitioned into management after his time as a player, was and still is a big part of that, as were his disciples. Another key player is Jay Triano, former Raptors and Suns coach who also coached our national team twice. The biggest change in our national team? The current members signed a three-year commitment to the team in 2022. Basically, they’re in it to win it. There’s no more hoping that players we need will be available when we need them.
The Talent Pool
We’ve got Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or SGA if you know, the 26-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder player who’s an All-Star and a finalist when they vote for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and arguably most importantly, Clutch Player of the Year. Then there’s Jamal Murray, the second-best player on the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Be sure to watch Montrealer Luguentz Dort, or the Dorture Chamber, known for making forwards suffer due to his relentless defence. And we have another irritating defender in Dillon Brooks, a Houston Rocket who helped Team Canada win bronze at the FIBA World Cup in 2023. In fact, ten of our twelve players are in the NBA. (The remaining two, Khem Birch and Melvin Ejim, play in Spain.)
The Hope
As always, Team USA are the favourites to win the men’s basketball medal, and they beat us in an exhibition game in July. American commentators are confident in their team, but acknowledge that Canada’s team is nothing to scoff at. Snoop Dogg, who’s an NBC special correspondent for the Olympics, said of Canada, “They got a shot to get to the gold-medal round, but they’re not going to win it.” “The USA is the dogs. We’re not going to lose to no puppies.”
Well, good luck Snoop.