LAS VEGAS — The Canadian men’s basketball team is well-endowed.
Canada is ranked seventh in the world and finished third at last year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup, where it recorded victories over teams ranked first (Spain), second (United States) and the reigning Olympic silver medallists (France).
The only team that will have more NBA players on its final roster at the Olympic tournament in France later this month will be Team USA.
On Wednesday night in Las Vegas, the magnitude of the mountain they are attempting to climb in their quest for a gold medal will become fully apparent as Canada plays its first exhibition game against the United States at T-Mobile Arena.
This isn’t the same group that Canada beat in overtime to win the bronze medal last summer. The only players returning from that team are Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards. There are also players you may have heard of at the Olympic tournament: LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant (though he’ll miss Wednesday night’s game with a calf strain), Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, to name a few.
Joel Embiid will also make his debut for Team USA. The 2022-23 NBA MVP grew up in Cameroon but was allowed to play for the Americans in time for the Olympics.
So yeah. While Canada added a few key reinforcements — Jamal Murray, Andrew Nembhard and likely Trey Lyles — it’s not quite the same, even though Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nembhard are as good a guard rotation as any team in the tournament, Team USA included.
But for all the good times the Canadians generated with their World Cup run last summer, the start of their exhibition schedule against the reigning Olympic gold medallist reminds them of the challenge that lies ahead.
It’s not the end of the world, as this is only the first exhibition game for each team. Sure, the game will be broadcast live in both countries and the stadiums will be full, but that doesn’t really matter.
“It’s a great experience because of the stage, right?” Canadian head coach Jordi Fernandez said after his team’s practice Tuesday night. “And a lot of people are looking forward to watching the game. But we have a plan to be the team that’s pretty physical and runs a lot, and our fitness is important. As you can see, our guys are working really hard. And (Wednesday’s) game is just part of our plan. I think we have 17 days to get to that day in the best shape possible (with) our lives connected and ready to fight.”
“We’re going to try to win every game, but I’m telling you, I’m not going to let any of my players down because we have a plan and we have to follow it and you know, the emotions… it wouldn’t make sense to play someone for 30 minutes.”
But it’s a special moment nonetheless. In some ways, Canada’s journey to gold in France began this time of year in Las Vegas two summers ago, when men’s general manager Rowan Barrett and then-head coach Nick Nurse asked a core group of players to commit to preparing each summer for World Cup qualifying, the World Cup and, eventually, the Olympics.
When Gilgeous-Alexander was the first to step up and say he wanted to be a part of it, a new chapter in Canadian basketball began to be written.
A glimpse of what could easily be a gold medal final is a great way to start the slow build to what could be a spectacular result.
But hey, it’s just an exhibition match.
“No matter who we play, it’s going to be very exciting because we know the opportunity is going to be there,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named a World Cup All-Star between back-to-back All-NBA First Team honors. “We all love basketball, and we all love the bright lights, the stage, so I think no matter who we play, we’re going to be very excited, we’re going to be nervous. I might dribble with my foot on the first play, but once the ball goes up and down a couple times, it’s basketball and we’re doing what we love.”
How they do it will be crucial. If Canada has a weakness, it’s its relative lack of size on its front line. Among the many strengths of the U.S. team are three world-class centers in Embiid, Davis and Bam Adebayo. Any one of them is a problem for Canada, but collectively, they’re a nightmare.
We should get an idea of how Canada plans to handle teams that can play with several big players — France poses a similar challenge with Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, who are seven-foot-four and seven-foot-two, respectively.
“It’s a good challenge for us,” Fernandez said. “We’re going to run a lot. That’s how we’re going to handle it. And you know, we’re young, we’ve practiced really well and we’re ready to play. They’ve got one of the best centers in the world (Embiid), well, two of them (Embiid and Anthony Davis)… they’re really, really good players. (We have) a lot of respect for the team and the program. They’re No. 1 in the world and we have to do that job. So one day in the future, we’re going to be No. 1, so we’re looking forward to playing them and dealing with all that adversity with their size.”
While Canada’s big players — Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell and potentially two of their own, Lyles and Khem Birch — aren’t necessarily up to the task of a front line like the one Team USA can put on the field, defending them won’t be an individual effort.
Canada has some excellent defenders among its contingent of wings. Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA in steals, while Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks, Nembhard and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are all considered to be power forwards or elite defenders in the NBA. They can cause problems with their help, can make it difficult for teams to get the ball to their bigs and can speed up the game to get them out of their comfort zone.
“Be disruptive, be in the passing lanes, pressure the ball, make it hard to get the ball,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And then we have some big guys that are very physical even though they’re not 6-foot-10. They’re physical, they’ve played a lot of basketball, they’ve played against all kinds of players. We also have confidence in their ability to be manly and defend the ball down low.”
It’s a tall order against one of the biggest and best teams in international basketball, but that’s exactly what this edition of the Canadian men’s team signed up for when they embarked on their Olympic journey.
