Canada doesn’t have a strong track record when it comes to the Olympics in men’s basketball. The only time they have medaled was in 1936 when they received a silver. Notably, that was the first year that men’s basketball was an Olympic sport. The last time Canada qualified for the Olympics was in 2000 prior to this year.
However, there is a belief that Canada can make some noise in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. They are coming off a bronze medal finish in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup after defeating USA in the third-place game. Canada will be playing USA in an exhibition taking place on Wednesday night. Before that game takes place, Canada has announced their finalized 2024 Olympic men’s basketball roster.
The Canadian men’s basketball team’s roster for the 2024 Olympics is set. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/PbvJHcHgOq
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 10, 2024
Olympic Roster For Canada Men’s Basketball Revealed
Two Stars To Help Carry The Load
Ten of the 12 players on Canada’s final roster are currently playing in the NBA. They are led by their dynamic backcourt. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the runner-up behind Nikola Jokic for MVP in the 2023-24 season. The 25-year-old helped guide the Oklahoma City Thunder to the top seed in the 2024 Western Conference Playoffs. In his 75 regular season games last season, Gilgeous-Alexander posted excellent averages of 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.0 steals. The six-year pro posted a career-best of 53.5% shooting from the field. Last season was the second in a row where he averaged more than 30 points per contest.
Jamal Murray has put together some outstanding postseason performances and was the second-best player (behind Jokic) on the Denver Nuggets 2023 championship team. The seventh overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Murray is still just 27 years old. Last season, he shot career-bests from the field (48.1%) and from three-point territory (42.5%). He has averaged more than 20 points per game each of his last three seasons (missed all of 2021-22 due to a torn ACL).
Heavy On NBA Players
While those are the two stars from Canada’s roster, fans of the NBA will recognize many of the other names as they have had established roles in the league. The eight other active NBA players are Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), RJ Barrett (Toronto Raptors), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Luguentz Dort (Thunder), Trey Lyles (Sacramento Kings), Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers), Kelly Olynyk (Raptors), and Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks).
Dort just missed out on making the All-Defensive Second Team last season. Nembhard was a starter on a Pacers team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Brooks made the All-Defensive Second Team in 2022-23. Barrett averaged at least 20 points per game for the second time last season. Alexander-Walker played nearly half the minutes on a Timberwolves team that reached the 2024 Western Conference Finals. Lyles has been utilized as the second man off the bench for Sacramento the past two seasons. Olynyk has connected on 39.1% of his three-point tries in the last two seasons. Powell has spent the last nine-plus seasons with the Mavericks.
The other two players on the roster are Khem Birch and Melvin Ejim. Birch played six seasons in the NBA from 2017-18 until 2022-23 before spending last season playing in Spain. Ejim played collegiately for Iowa State from 2010-11 until 2013-14 and has been playing in Europe ever since.
