Canada at 2023 FIBA World Cup

Canadian Squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup

The Canada Senior Men's Basketball Team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup was led by Jordi Fernández, who replaced former head coach Nick Nurse on 27 June 2023. Other coaching staff included assistant head coach Nate Bjorkgren and assistant coaches Philip Jevtovic, Nathaniel Mitchell and Michael Meeks.

On 13 July 2023, Canada named an expanded 18-man roster. It was reduced to 14 players three weeks later. On 24 August, the final roster was revealed with 12 players, including seven NBA players, the most of any team at the World Cup aside from Australia and the US. Top team members were All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and two-way player RJ Barrett. Jamal Murray announced that he would not participate in the tournament, since he needed to rest after winning the 2023 NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets.

Other pivotal role players were veterans Dillon Brooks, Dwight Powell and captain Kelly Olynyk. They helped lead Canada to the best record in the Americas in World Cup qualifiers. Backup centre Zach Edey, listed at 2.24 m (7-foot-4), was the tallest player at the tournament.

Players and Positions

FIBA Americas Qualifiers

Canada’s Senior Men's National Team participated in the 19th season of the FIBA AmeriCup in 2022. (The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) Team Canada finished the group phase in second place with a record of 2–1. In the quarter-finals, Canada defeated Mexico 82–77. In the semifinals, they were defeated by Brazil 86–76. They finished the tournament in fourth place. Despite not getting a medal after a narrow loss to the United States, Dalano Banton was named to the All-Tournament Team.

On 1 August 2023, Team Canada began their training camp in Toronto in preparation for the FIBA World Cup. Team Canada finished its exhibition tour in Europe with a 3–2 record.

2023 FIBA World Cup Group H

Canada (ranked No. 15 in the world) began the tournament in Group H with France (No. 5), Latvia (No. 29) and Lebanon (No. 43). Every team played against the three other teams in its group. The top two teams advanced into the second round of the group phase. The Group H games took place at Indonesia Arena in Jakarta.

Canada vs. France (25 August)

Canada faced France in the opening game. France, the defending silver medallist, was favored to win. However, Canada emerged with a lopsided 95–65 victory.

Canada vs. Lebanon (27 August)

Canada easily defeated Lebanon 128–73. Nine Canadian players scored in double digits. Canada also set a FIBA record with 44 assists.

Canada vs. Latvia (29 August)

After trailing Latvia by as many as 12 points, Canada closed the first half with a one point lead. Canada went on to win 101–75. Undefeated, the team finished atop the group standings in the group stage for the first time.

2nd Round: Group L

Canada vs. Brazil (1 September)

Canada suffered its first defeat in the opening game of the second round. Brazil outscored the Canadians 24–13 in the fourth quarter. The final score was 69–65. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 23 points, but Canada shot just 33.3 per cent from the field as a team.

Canada vs. Spain (3 September)

Canada beat the defending champion, Spain, their toughest matchup, 88–85 in a thrilling game. Canada reached the quarter-final round for the first time since 1994. The team also qualified for the Olympic Summer Games for the first time since 2000.

Quarter-finals

Canada vs. Slovenia (6 September)

In the quarter-final, Canada faced Slovenia, which was ranked in the top eight for a third straight tournament. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored more than 30 points for the second game in a row. Canada's stellar defense in the second half gave the team a 100–89 victory at a sold-out Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines.

Semifinals

Canada vs. Serbia (8 September)

In their first semifinal appearance in World Cup history, Canada played against sixth-ranked Serbia. RJ Barrett scored 23, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team’s leading scorer, passer and rebounder, was limited amid tight defense. In the end, Serbia defeated Canada 95–86 to end the Canadian quest for gold. But Canada was now guaranteed a top-four finish.

Bronze Medal Game

Canada vs. USA (10 September)

The battle for third place between Canada and Team USA went down in dramatic fashion. Team USA forced the game into an extra five-minute period by tying the score at 111 at the end of regulation. But in overtime, momentum swung in Canada’s favour. Outscoring the Americans 16–7, the Canadians held on to win 127–118. Dillon Brooks finished the game with a career-high 39 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists over 42 minutes. His 39-point performance also set a new record for most points by a Canadian in a single FIBA World Cup game. Team captain Kelly Olynyk — whose national team debut came as a 19-year-old in 2010, when Canada went 0–5 — was the first to receive his medal.

Aftermath

Dillon Brooks was named the tournament’s Best Defensive Player. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals and just 1.4 turnovers per game during the tournament. He was named to the World Cup All-Tournament team. He went on to win the Northern Star Award and the Lionel Conacher Award in 2023, making him only the second basketball player (after Steve Nash in 2005) to win both in the same year.

Canada concluded the 2023 FIBA World Cup with a best-ever record of 6–2. In addition to qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris, Canada also climbed nine spots in the world rankings to No. 6. On 30 December 2023, the Senior Men's National Team was named Team of the Year by the Canadian Press.