TORONTO — Canada's best men's basketball players were left wanting more in 2024.
Hamilton's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in NBA MVP voting for the 2023-24 season, the best performance among a record-high 27 Canadians in the league. His Oklahoma City Thunder had a disappointing second-round exit in the NBA's Western Conference playoffs, and Canada's men's senior team finished fifth at the Paris Olympics.
Gilgeous-Alexander said that it was only once Canada fell to France 82-73 in the Olympic quarterfinals on Aug. 6 that he realized exactly what he'd lost.
"The opportunity to medal and win, we didn't get a chance to do it and being in it, you kind of take it for granted," said Gilgeous-Alexander after the Thunder visited the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 5. "Every year I get a chance to win an NBA championship, and every four years I get a chance to try to win the Olympics."
Canada qualified for its first Olympic men's basketball tournament in 24 years at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, earning a best-ever bronze medal at that event with a 127-118 win over the United States on Sept. 10, 2023.
The Canadians were a perfect 3-0 in the group stage at the Olympics this past summer, advancing out of Group A as the third seed in the knockout stage. Then Canada ran afoul of France in the quarters for the disappointing fifth-place finish.
"I think obviously the World Cup was awesome. The Olympics could have went better, I think," said centre Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., who also plays for the Raptors, on Wednesday. "Obviously, it's not how any of us wanted to finish but when you look at it retrospectively, it's our best finish in however many years or whatever. First time we made it in however many years.
"A little bit of a small victory, I guess."
Canada has finished fourth at the Olympics twice: the 1976 Montreal Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
"I think a lot of us on that team think we could have done better than bronze at the World Cup, and we could have done better than fifth at the Olympics," he said.
Gilgeous-Alexander said that he's going to work even harder if he gets another chance to win an Olympic medal.
"In four years, you never know what will happen, where I was four years ago, and where I'll be four years from now, but it's a special opportunity," said Gilgeous-Alexander. "If, God willing, I'm around for that opportunity, I'll definitely approach it a little bit different."
The quadrennial for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics has already begun and Canada is playing well on the international stage.
The Canadian men — without any NBA players — were a perfect 4-0 in Group C of 2025 FIBA AmeriCup qualification round with wins over the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Nicaragua this past year. Group stage play will continue on Feb. 21 when Canada faces the Dominican Republic a second time.
As host, Nicaragua has already qualified for the quadrennial North American tournament. Argentina won its third title in 2022, and Canada finished fourth in a tourney delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's continued to go up, and it's not going to be a linear progression to the top. There's going to be some hiccups and bumps along the way," said Olynyk. "But we've got a great group of young guys, talented, and some even younger talented guys coming up in the mix.
"I think the future is still very, very bright, and it's about sticking together, playing together, building that cohesion, that chemistry, that continuity, and just keep growing."
Gilgeous-Alexander also led the way in the NBA in the 2023-24 campaign and continues to do so this season.
He averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, two assists, and 0.9 blocks per game last season, finishing behind Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic in MVP voting in what was the best NBA season for a Canadian since Steve Nash's back-to-back MVP awards in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
The Thunder were the top seed in the NBA's Western Conference with a 57-25 record but were upset by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round.
Gilgeous-Alexander continues to dominate this season, with 30.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and one block per game so far.
"It's been no different," said Gilgeous-Alexander on Oklahoma City's 2024-25 season. "Doesn't feel different at all, same group of guys with a few additions that have blended in very well.
"We just take it a day at a time. Try to get better with every game, every opportunity, and then hopefully by the end of the year, we're where we want to be."
The Thunder came up short again in the NBA Cup final, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 97-81 on Tuesday.
Although there were five fewer Canadians in the NBA this season versus last, the future looks bright with Toronto's Zach Edey making his debut for the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 23.
The seven-foot-four centre was drafted eighth overall out of Purdue University this past summer after winning the Naismith Award as U.S. college basketball's player of the year for a second time.
Edey is only the third male player to win back-to-back Naismith awards, joining Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson and Bill Walton.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
