Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become the face of Team Canada

Canada collects international gold medals in ice hockey like they’re Molson beer caps in a Montreal pub. They even recently picked up a Women’s soccer gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But when it comes to the hardwood, the Canadian men’s basketball team has not qualified for the Olympics since the year 2000.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plans to change that.

SGA was just two years old when he watched Steve Nash (before his prime) and Todd MacCulloch serve as the only two NBA players to represent America’s neighbor to the north in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games. That team fought their way to a 7th-place finish, but since then, Canadian basketball has been left out in the cold.

The most recent heartbreak worthy of a sad Celine Dion song came in the form of a 103-101 overtime loss to the Czech Republic in the semifinals of an Olympic qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That game featured former Kentucky players Trey Lyles and Mychal Mulder, but they, in combination with other NBA stars, RJ Barrett and Andrew Wiggins, fell a bit short.

However, Canadian-born players seem to have been infused with a renewed sense of patriotism, and all eyes are locked on Paris in 2024.

Olympics or bust, buddy

Before teams can start focusing on the Olympics, the attention is on FIBA’s World Cup, which will take place in 2023 across Japan, Indonesia, and the basketball-loving country of the Philippines. 32 teams will make the field and qualifying is well underway.

To build a quality Olympic résumé, a strong performance in the World Cup is paramount, and nothing helps that more than seeding. Thus, Canada has been fighting for every win in these qualifiers, an effort spearheaded by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

This is the first time SGA has donned the maple leaf jersey since he was 17 years old, six years ago, but he wasted no time becoming the face of the team.

SGA has played in three qualifying games and averaged 26.3 points, four rebounds, and 4.7 assists during that stretch. This includes a 23-point, eight-rebound performance against Argentina on Thursday and a 32-point explosion earlier against the Dominican Republic. More importantly for his squad, he has a +/- of +21 while he is on the court, making him far and away the most important player on the floor.

With Andrew Wiggins waffling on his commitment to play and Jamal Murray recuperating from major knee surgery, Gilgeous-Alexander is the lone Canadian max-NBA contract guy remaining — and he has shined. Clearly, he knows Canada is better than what it has shown over the last two decades and he wants to do something about it.

If nothing else, SGA likely wants an excuse to get back to Paris, where he was last seen channeling his inner Zoolander, walking the runway at Fashion Week.

Assembling the squad to get them there

Canadian head coach, Nick Nurse, despises running his team like a G-League squad, with new guys constantly forced to play with other new guys. He wants consistency, and because of that, he has asked for multi-year commitments from his players. He received exactly that from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and several other NBA players.

The conspicuous holdout was Andrew Wiggins, who agreed he would join if he was available and there was an open roster spot, but couldn’t commit to three summers of participating in international basketball.

If everyone is healthy and available, Canada could put out a lineup that includes Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Andrew Wiggins, and Dwight Powell. Throw in Dillon Brooks, Kelly Olynyk, and Shai’s cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Canada has a team as sweet as its maple syrup. While Vegas might not favor that group to take down the best squad Team USA could put together, it most certainly has podium potential.

Also of note, former Kentucky National Champion, Kyle Wiltjer, accepted an invite to the most recent training camp but did not make the trip.

There is no word on whether or not Kentucky’s most recent Canadian, Shaedon Sharpe, will play.

Canada’s talent pool is nowhere near what the United States enjoys, yet they suffer from similar player hesitations. Between injury risk, time commitment, wear on their bodies, and a lack of recovery time before the NBA grind begins, it is hard to blame these guys for sitting out.

But with Shai-Gilgeous Alexander stepping up (though he will likely sit out the remainder of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers), his fellow countrymen have followed suit, and Canadians may not have to wait until hockey season to witness some international success.