Canadian Men’s Basketball Team named Canadian Press Team of the Year

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Abdulhamid Ibrahim of the Canadian Press on Friday, the Canadian National Men’s Basketball Team has been selected as the Canadian Press Team of the Year. Team Canada was recognized for their bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Pasay, Philippines. It is the first time ever that Canada won a medal in the history of the World Cup, and by being one of the top two countries from the Americas, Canada qualified in men’s basketball for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Canada won Pool H during the World Cup. In three games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Canada defeated France 95-65, Lebanon 128-73, and Latvia 101-75. Canada then split their Group L games as they lost 69-65 to Brazil before beating Spain 88-85. In the quarterfinals, Canada beat Slovenia 100-89, before losing in the semifinals 95-86 to Serbia. In the bronze medal game, Canada beat basketball powerhouse the United States 127-118 in overtime.

It was quite the tournament for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto, Ontario. The 2023 Northern Star Award winner was on the tournament All-Star Team, and was fourth in the tournament with 24.5 points per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander was part of a starting five on Team Canada with NBA experience. It included Dillon Brooks of the Houston Rockets, RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks, Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks and Luguentz Dort of the Thunder.

Other countries that have qualified so far for the Olympic Games in men’s basketball are Australia, the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Serbia and South Sudan. Canada has won one medal in the history of men’s basketball at the Olympic Games. They won the silver medal at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.