Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proved himself as a leader at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Dillon Brooks put the haters in their place. The scary part is that this team is poised to get even better. Emmet Ryan on the rise of Canada Basketball into a global force
Just before Canada tipped off against Slovenia in the quarter final in Manila, Cesare Milanti tapped my shoulder. He asked why I was singing when the Canadian anthem played. The reason was simple, I knew the lyrics to O Canada and I figured someone ought to sing it given how few Canadian journalists were there.
Many, many, years ago, I worked for a gambling company. It was a content marketing job and there was a global recession. The key part is that the business was focused on the Canadian market. That meant that for good and bad, sports in Canada got my attention.
When it came to basketball however, it wasn’t Canada Basketball that came to mind and I mean ever. No, these were the early 2010s and nobody was thinking of Canada being anything worth talking about. Even the women’s team, while capable of qualifying for the Olympics, was hardly discussed as a medal contender. The men? Well, that was just a factory of sadness.
It’s been a long road
Will Lou, host of the Raptors show on Sportsnet 590 the Fan, knows all too well about Canada’s basketball history.
“I’ve been waiting so long for a team this good. We were promised it for so long. We had back to back number 1 overall picks in the NBA Draft, with Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. Wiggins was meant to be Maple Michael Jordan,” he told BallinEurope.
“We figured that if we had 3 or 4 NBA players, we should just walk into international competitions and be competitive. They were but there was always one bad loss at the worst time.”
There were quite a few painful points but the worst in recent times came in 2021. Canada won the bid to host one of the men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Tokyo. Of course, due to Covid, there was nobody in the stands. Home advantage was gone and Czech Republic ended up winning the spot in the games.
“There was always a feeling that this was a team that would disappoint you at some point,” Lou said.
BallinEurope is ramping up its YouTube game this season. Subscribe to our channel now for player exclusives, analysis videos, and much more.
A cultural shift
The Canada Basketball team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was different to any the nation had ever sent to an international tournament. Despite Wiggins and Jamal Murray not being available, it was one with serious NBA talent.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the all-tournament team. Dillon Brooks was named the best defender. RJ Barrett, who we will get to later, Lugentz Dort, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Kelly Olynk made up a NBA core that Jordi Fernandez had to work with. There simply has never been this much talent from the Great White North playing in the NBA.
“The popularity of the sport has been on the rise in Canada. It was a 30 year process. Having 2 NBA franchises in Canada, although the Grizzlies relocated, helped a lot. There’s a lot more basketball being played in Canada,” Lou said.
“There’s more infrastructure now. There are AAU teams, like in the US, that travel to the States and play all the top AAU teams there. More scouts are coming to Canada now to look for players.”
The population shifts in Canada have played an enormous role here. Ice hockey, or just hockey if you live there, is the sport most of the world associates with Canada. That’s not necessarily the case for the generations that have grown up in recent times.
“Canada had an immigration boom that started in the 1960s. People from all over the world came in. For those immigrants, they aren’t as familiar with hockey. There was no background for hockey for me growing up. I was no good at basketball but it was the natural sport to play,” Lou said.
“It’s a very sustainable process. You’re just going to see three or four Canadians coming into the league every year. That’s just going to be normal.”
Hockey is still king but that’s ok
There’s no doubt that hockey remains the outright king of sports in Canada but there’s enough room now for other sports to get real attention there. The Toronto Raptors winning a NBA championship, with Drake as their superfan, certainly didn’t hurt.
“Basketball is just more cool for kids now in Canada than hockey. There’s a bigger cost to putting your kids through hockey than basketball as well. At the same time, Canada is just in a position where it has really talented players,”
“Maybe 10 years ago, we had guys in the league but they were mostly on the bench. We were hoping they’d be stars for Canada. That’s not how it works. Now we have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who was arguably the best player in the tournament. He’s just a star no matter what team he plays on. All the guys who are role players in the NBA are role players for this team.”
BallinEurope has a book, a real life actual book called I Like it Loud, and you can buy it on Amazon now. It’s here as a book and here in Kindle form.
We return to Mr RJ Barrett
While RJ Barrett isn’t quite a star in the NBA, his role in the recognition of Canada as a force in basketball is enormous. His 38 points against the USA in the 2017 U19 FIBA World Championship semi-final announced the nation as one to watch in the sport.
That was followed up with victory in the final over Italy to take the gold. Canada Basketball, at least at youth level, was no longer a punchline.
“That was when everyone in Canada got familiar with RJ Barrett. It’s not easy to beat the USA at any level. It was kind of legendary. For the young kids in Canada, they see the opportunity now,” Lou said.
“They know that if they win the lottery with genetics and work hard, they know there’s a pathway to the NBA. It’s a dream that feels a lot more real now for the top players in Canada.”
Dillon Brooks didn’t need to be a star for Canada Basketball to be an important contributor. That made a big difference for him and the team. Photo: FIBA
Not to forget Steve Nash
Before this current crop, this sustainable crop really, of ballers came through, there was one man who broke the mould for Canada. Steve Nash was the star that people like a young Will Lou looked up to.
“In the 2000s when he was winning MVP and was great with the Suns, it drove a lot of interest in Canada. It hadn’t been a featured broadcast before Steve Nash came along. Steve was one of my big avenues into basketball. For a lot of Canadians, their exposure to basketball came through watching Steve Nash on television,” Lou said.
Read our look at the future of basketball in the Philippines and the need for Puso to evolve now.
The now
The timezones really didn’t help most Canadians who wanted to follow the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Both their semi-final loss to Serbia and bronze medal win over the USA, started at 4.40am Toronto time. Staying up that late or getting up that early requires unique dedication. Still, the interest was there.
“The media interest had to catch up in a way. Even with 2019, you had to watch it on Dazn to see it. With 2023, it was on local TV with Sportsnet. Obviously the timing wasn’t ideal but there was more interest and coverage. The next step is to send more reporters as there was only two or three Canadians that went to see the games in person,” Lou said.
“When they get to the Olympics, there’ll be a lot more coverage. Even now, people realise that we have a really good team.”
A good problem
The benefits that came with immigration haven’t just helped Canada Basketball. Soccer is experiencing a boom period, with the women winning the 2021 Olympics and the men reaching the World Cup for the first time since 1986 last year. Lou isn’t worried about the talent pool getting diluted.
“I mean, that’s a good problem to have. Canada is a mid-sized country of 36 million people. Sports infrastructure across the board is improving. Basketball and soccer are the two most popular sports amongst younger kids. It’s baseball where we’re seeing talent being eaten up as there’s less and less Canadian talent in MLB now,” Lou said.
“There’s also a big push with the women. Toronto has the infrastructure to support a WNBA team. There was a sold out preseason game in Toronto earlier this year and a lot of businesses signed up to be sponsors. The support is there and once the WNBA feels comfortable expanding, Toronto is in the conversation. We’re also seeing lots of Canadian women getting into the WNBA or going pro overseas. It’s a boom across the board.”
Enormous thanks to Will Lou for his help with this piece. You should follow him on Twitter or X or whatever it is called these days.
Leave a Reply