The Canada men's national basketball team (French: Équipe du Canada de basketball masculin) represents Canada in international basketball competitions since 1923. They are overseen by Canada Basketball, the governing body for basketball in Canada.
The Canadian senior national team won its only gold medal at a university-level tournament, the 1983 Summer Universiade, which the country hosted in Edmonton, Alberta.
History
Early years
As the country credited for bringing forth the inventor of the game, Canada's national team has often been a major competitor at the global stage.
Through the 70s and 80s, Team Canada consistently placed among the top teams in the world. The emergence of Steve Nash gave another boost to the team in the 1990s. Yet, great performances became more scarce when he retired.
2009–2016
Canada began the new cycle entering the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship. Canada advanced to the quarterfinals, after posting a 2–2 record in the Preliminary round. A Uruguay loss to Argentina on the final day of group play meant that the winner of the Canada-Dominican Republic game would advance to the semifinals. Canada would go on to defeat them 76–80. In the semi-finals, Canada would lose to top-seeded Brazil 73–65. By finishing in the top four, this guaranteed the team a place in the 2010 FIBA World Championship held in Turkey. Canada unfortunately finished last (6th) of the Group D, and got ranked 22nd of the FIBA World Cup.
Critics blamed the absence of Steve Nash, Samuel Dalembert, Jamaal Magloire and Matt Bonner for Canada's disappointing performance at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.[2] Ambitions to gather Canada's most outstanding basketball players for the 2010 squad failed as Nash retired from the national team in 2007,
[3]
Bonner did not get his citizenship in time,[4] Dalembert was cut from the team after issues with former head coach Rautins[2] and Magloire simply opted not to play.[4]
On May 9, 2012, Steve Nash was named general manager of the national team of Canada.
After a disappointing showing at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, Team Canada would not find success until the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship. In the tournament, Canada advanced to the semi-finals where they were defeated by Venezuela in a nail-bitting 78–79 loss. In the third-place game, they would defeat Mexico 87–86 to claim the bronze medal.
With there 3rd place showing at the FIBA Americas Championship, Canada qualified to the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Manila. Needing to finish first to qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Canada would advance all the way to the finals to face France. In front of a crown of 13,000, at the Mall of Asia Arena, Canada would fall 74–83 and miss out on yet another Summer Olympics.
2017–2020
After failing to qualify for the Olympics, Canada participated at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup in South America. The team was composed mostly of non-NBA players, and ended group play with a 1–2 record. The poor performance led them to finishing in 8th place.
The team withdrew from its FIBA AmeriCup qualifying games against Cuba on November 29, 2020, and against the U.S. Virgin Islands on November 30, 2020, on the advice of medical experts due to risks posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence on January 20, 2021, the International Basketball Federation docked the team a point in the standings in addition to a 160,000 Swiss francs fine levied against Canada Basketball.[8][9]
At the 18th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, Canada was drawn in Group H, with Australia, Lithuania, and Senegal. Canada finished in 21st place, their second worst showing at the men's international tournament.
Canada had one last change to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, participating at the 2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments – Victoria. Canada began the Preliminary round finishing with a 2–0 record, advancing to the semi-finals where they would face Czech Republic. A closely fought game, Canada would ultimately fall 101–103 in OT, missing out on the Summer Games for a 5th straight tournament.
The Rogers Centre in Toronto has served Team Canada as home court for most of their matches.
2021–present
After numerous setbacks in tournament play, Canada Basketball introduced the concept of the 'Summer Core' consisting of 14 players who were willing to commit to represent Canada for three consecutive summers. This included the 2023 FIBA World Cup and participation at the 2024 Summer Olympics, where the Canadian men are making their first appearance since Nash led them to Sydney in 2000.[10]
In 2022, the Canadians participated at the 19th edition of the FIBA AmeriCup. They finished group play in second place with a 2–1 record. In the quarter-finals, Canada defeated Mexico 77–82. In the semi-finals, they were defeated by Brazil 86–76. They ended the tournament finishing in 4th place, after a narrow 84–80 loss to the United States, in the third place game. Dalano Banton, one of the standouts of the tournament, was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Leading up to the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Canada Basketball announced a five-game exhibition series where they would play matches in Germany and Spain, against some of the top nations in the world. Canada finished the exhibition tour with a 3–2 record, which included wins over Germany and Spain, both of which were higher-ranked.[13]
Canada carried their form into the group phase of the World Cup, defeating France 95–65 in the opening match.[14] Canada finished the first group phase with a 3–0 record, and a +111 point differential, following large wins over Lebanon and Latvia.[15] However, the team suffered their first loss of the tournament to Brazil in the first game of the second stage. The loss meant that their next match against world number one ranked Spain, was a game Canada had to win if they hoped to gain an automatic berth at the 2024 Olympics.[16]Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led a fourth quarter comeback from 12 points down, as Canada edged the defending World champions in an 88–85 victory. The win secured a quarter-final spot and Canada's first Olympic berth since 2000.[17] Canada then defeated Slovenia in the quarter-final by a score of 100–89, reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time.[18] After a loss to Serbia in the semi-final, Canada defeated the United States in the bronze medal game, which went to overtime and concluded 127–118. Dillon Brooks recorded a team-best 39 points in the game, which secured the team's first global championship medal since 1936.[19] Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Canadian to be named to the World Cup All-Tournament Team, while Brooks received the Best Defensive Player award.[20][21] The team was subsequently named Team of the Year by The Canadian Press.[22]
Canada entered the 2024 Paris Olympics, its first Olympic tournament in 24 years, as one of the favorites for a medal, with its roster including most of its stars from the World Cup as well as additions such as NBA champion Jamal Murray.[23] After a strong unbeaten performance in the group stage with Australia, Spain and Greece, which was deemed the "group of death" by experts,[24][25] Canada was surprisingly eliminated in the quarterfinals by hosts France.[26] Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the tournament's All-Second Team.[27]
Roy Burkett, Ken Callis, George Delkers, Doug Gresham, Herb Olafson, Wally Parobec, Carl Ridd, Andy Spack, Mike Spack, Ralph Watts. (Coach: Jim Bulloch)
Harry Blacker, Neil Dirom, Gordon Fester, Ken Galanchuk, Bob Inglis, Ken Larsen, Jack Lilja, Bill McDonald, Lance Stephens, Logan Tait, Dave Way, Al West. (Coach: Bob Hamilton)
Tom Bishop, Reni Dolcetti, Varouj Gurunlian, Howard Kelsey, Perry Mirkovich, Ross Quackenbush, Romel Raffin, Leo Rautins, Martin Riley, Doc Ryan, Jay Triano, Jim Zoet. (Coach: Jack Donohue)
John Hatch, Gord Herbert, Gerald Kazanowski, Howard Kelsey, Dan Meagher, Eli Pasquale, Romel Raffin, Tony Simms, Karl Tilleman, Jay Triano, Bill Wennington, Greg Wiltjer. (Coach: Jack Donohue)
John Hatch, Gord Herbert, Gerald Kazanowski, Howard Kelsey, Dan Meagher, Eli Pasquale, Romel Raffin, Tony Simms, Karl Tilleman, Jay Triano, Bill Wennington, Greg Wiltjer. (Coach: Jack Donohue)
Gerry Besselink, John Hatch, Gord Herbert, Gerald Kazanowski, Howard Kelsey, Barry Mungar, Dan Meagher, Eli Pasquale, Tony Simms, Jay Triano, David Turcotte, Greg Wiltjer. (Coach: Jack Donohue)
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