Canadian men's basketball roster revealed ahead of first Olympic appearance since 2000
Canada looking for first medal since 1936.
The final Canadian Olympic team announcement came on Wednesday, with the reveal of the country’s men’s basketball roster.
The team qualified for its first Olympic Games since Sydney 2000 at the 2023 FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup, finishing as one of the top two teams from the Americas region. Canada made a historic run onto the podium, finishing third for their first-ever medal at the World Cup with a 127-118 win over the United States.
Dillon Brooks scored 39 points in that bronze medal match, setting a FIBA World Cup record for most in a medal-winning game, and a Canadian national team single-game record. Brooks was also named the best defensive player in the tournament, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was part of the tournament’s All-Star Team.
At the end of the year, Gilgeous-Alexander was voted the 2023 Northern Star Award winner as Canada's top athlete of the year.
Including Brooks and Gilgeous-Alexander, eight players from Canada’s World Cup team will represent Canada this summer in Paris. Also returning are Nickeil Alexander-Walker, RJ Barrett, Luguentz Dort, Melvin Ejim, Kelly Olynyk, and Dwight Powell. The other members of Canada’s Olympic roster are Khem Birch, Trey Lyles, Jamal Murray, and Andrew Nembhard.
Ejim is the only one who hasn’t played in the NBA, but he has had a successful career overseas, and earlier this year won the FIBA Champions League with Spanish team Baloncesto Málaga.
Jamal Murray won the NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. Gilgeous-Alexander is a two-time NBA All-Star and also finished second in NBA MVP voting for the 2023–24 season. Two members of the team, Barrett and Olynyk, play for the Toronto Raptors, and Olynyk will be Canada’s captain in Paris.
“Leading our Senior Men’s National Team into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is an incredible honour,” Olynyk said in a press release. “Since I began playing basketball, my dream has always been to represent Canada at the Olympics. Last year’s third-place finish at the FIBA World Cup was an important step, proving that we belong among the world’s best teams. However, it also showed us that we still have work to do as we pursue our ultimate goal of winning gold in Paris.”
There are several Olympic family ties in this Canadian roster. Gilgeous-Alexander is cousins with Alexander-Walker. Charmaine Gilgeous, Shai’s mother, represented Antigua and Barbuda in the women’s 400 metres at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
RJ Barrett is the son of Rowan Barrett, who was Canada’s team captain at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and is currently the national team’s general manager and executive vice president.
When Melvin Ejim competes at his first Olympics, so too will his sister Yvonne, who was named to Canada’s women’s basketball Olympic team last week.
Canada’s head coach, Spaniard Jordi Fernández, will lead Canada into his first Olympics as a national team head coach, after being the lead assistant for the Nigerian men’s national team at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
In April, Fernández was hired as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets after spending the previous two years as associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings.
“When we opened camp in Toronto last week, I challenged each of the players to improve one percent each day, and every day since I’ve witnessed the work and dedication they have put in,” said Fernández in a press release. “With 17 days to go until our first game of the tournament, that’s an opportunity to get 17% better. From the players to the coaches to the staff, the incredible opportunity ahead of us to do something truly historic for Canada this summer is not lost on anyone.”
Canada played an exhibition game in Las Vegas against the United States on Wednesday night after the team announcement, falling 86-72 to their neighbours to the south.
Canada’s lone Olympic medal in basketball came at Berlin 1936, a silver when Canada lost to the United States on a muddy clay and sand tennis court after it was rained on. The Americans won by an abnormal score of 19-8, and received their gold medals from James Naismith, the Canadian inventor of the sport.
Canada competed in the next three additions of the tournament — in 1948, 1952, and 1956. A few more appearances in the tournament followed in the decades after, but Canada’s last appearance before Paris 2024 was 24 years ago in Sydney.
Basketball will take place from July 27 to August 11, with Canada drawn into Group A with Greece, Australia, and Spain. Group phase games will be played at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, before the tournament moves to the Bercy Arena in Paris for the knockout rounds.
Thank you for reading this post on True North. To be the first person to read future posts, and listen to new podcast episodes, subscribe for free using the button below, or share the article with someone you know.