This article is also available in French.
Greece vs Canada Preview
Greece and Canada will face off in Group A of the Olympic Basketball tournament in Paris on July 27th at 3:00 pm ET. One of Europe’s best teams will face a North American side that looks reborn heading into the Olympics.
The Greeks have the best individual player in Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, he’s their only roster member currently playing in the NBA. Team Canada’s head coach has the luxury of selecting an entire roster from the world’s top professional league.
International basketball throws up surprises. We’ve seen South Sudan almost upset the U.S. Now it’s Greece’s turn to rattle Canada. They know that there’s no pressure on them to pull off a shock. But they’re perfectly capable of it.
Greece vs Canada Key Stats and Head-to-Head
These are two fascinating teams hoping to exceed expectations at the Paris Olympics. Greece has three fifth-place finishes in their history, but they believe they can contend in 2024. Meanwhile, the Canadians won their only medal in 1936 when they finished second.
Canada qualified for these games after an 88-85 victory over Spain in the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals in 2023. This sealed their status as one of the top two North American teams. While they lost to Serbia in the semifinal, Canada faced America in the bronze medal match. They upset the odds by beating Team USA, giving Canada their first bronze medal.
Team Canada is arguably the sport’s biggest underachiever, but they’re rising. They have a rich association with the NBA because of the Toronto Raptors. Canada has also contributed more NBA players than any nation outside of the USA. There’s a feeling that this is a golden generation.
Jamal Murray’s return is massive for Canada as they dream of a deep run in this tournament. An NBA Champion with the Denver Nuggets, he’s a bona fide superstar. He’s also outstanding in clutch situations, which makes him perfect for this knock-out format. This is his first national team commitment since the 2015 Pan American Games.
It’s easy to see why basketball fans are optimistic about this Canadian team. They have a brilliant mix of youth and experience in one of the tournament’s most balanced rosters. Jordi Fernandez has some outstanding players to choose from, making betting on the Paris Olympics more appealing.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is emerging as one of Team Canada’s most dependable players. The Oklahoma City Thunder star has been excellent in their tune-up games. He scored 14 points with three rebounds and six assists against Puerto Rico. The point guard was central to their victory over France with 23 points.
Veterans like Dwight Powell and Kelly Olynyk give Canada crucial experience. These players don’t receive attention from the media, but they’ve enjoyed long NBA careers. They’ve also been around the block in international basketball.
Meanwhile, Greece qualified for the Olympics after they beat Croatia in July 2024. They won 80-69 with Georgios Papagiannis contributing 19. Almost all of Greece’s athletes play for their domestic sides in the EuroLeague. North American fans shouldn’t underestimate this because Panathinaikos are the reigning continental champions.
Papagiannis and Nick Calathes star for France’s Monaco. Calathes is one of the greatest EuroLeague players ever and a key member of this Greek side. Everybody knows Greece’s star man because he’s a global icon.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the difference maker for Greece. The NBA Champion is a two-time MVP and an eight-time NBA All-Star. He has scored 870 points in 59 games for his country. Unfortunately, the Greeks are without Giannis’ brother Thanasis because of an ACL tear. However, Kostas, another of the ‘Greek Freak’s’ siblings, made the roster.
Victory is crucial for both teams as they hope to emerge from the Group of Death. Australia and Spain lie in wait, so there’s no respite for any of these nations. However, anybody can beat each other, which makes this so exciting.
Historically, these teams don’t play very often. Their last meeting was in 2021, with Canada emerging as 97-91 victors at the Tokyo Olympics. This was a tight victory for the Canadians, but arguably both teams are better now. It was also their first clash since 2010 when Greece won 123-49 at the Acropolis Tournament.
he was locked in 🔒 #SMNT pic.twitter.com/o8k0uthV9z
— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) July 21, 2024
Greece has won four of their last five games. Their most recent match was a 94-72 defeat to Serbia. Nikola Jokić and Bogdan Bogdanovic had too much for the Greeks in Belgrade. However, Giannis still delivered an excellent performance with 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Greece started too slow in this friendly and must be sharper at the Olympics.
The Canadians are on a two-win streak with their last defeat against the USA earlier this month. That 86-72 loss shows they can keep in touch with the gold medal favourites. Live betting will be important for this game. If the Greeks start fast, the odds will shift dramatically. This is also true if a player like Giannis or Murray suffers a game-ending injury. There are so many variables in this clash.
Greece vs Canada Predictions
Predicted Score: Greece 76 – 90 Canada
Our Olympic prediction is for Canada to win against Greece. Jordi Fernandez has the luxury of an outstanding roster. There is hope this side can contend for a medal. Now Canada must prove it to the watching world.
Team Canada’s Olympic basketball team is full of stars. Jamal Murray injects some stardust into Canada’s team. The Denver icon could emerge as this tournament’s most influential player, bringing his nation to another level. We’ve seen Canada beat some of the top teams in the world over the past couple of years.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the most exciting athletes in the Olympics. The Oklahoma City Thunder man received MVP shouts last season. He averaged 30.1 points per game in the NBA with an excellent shooting split of 53/35/87. SGA has starred in Canada’s tune up games and can hit the ground running against Greece.
Canada’s recent defeat to Team USA was also a lesson for them. They’ll believe that they could have won. Greece has an outstanding superstar in Giannis, but he’s only one man. He can’t lead them to glory by himself.
What it means for Giannis 🥹#FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/rpacKTH6PA
— FIBA (@FIBA) July 7, 2024
Greece could make this game uncomfortable for the Canadians if they settle quickly. North Americans underestimate the EuroLeague’s quality. Panathinaikos are the reigning champions and the most represented team on this Greek roster.
The Olympics start later this week and the games come thick and fast. We expect Canada to start hot and to have too much firepower. The Serbia loss will serve as a warning for Greece and leave Canada licking their lips. Fernandez will see this as the most winnable game of the group stage for his men.
Canada vs Greece Betting Tips
Team Canada is a big favourite on our betting site ahead of this game. They’re currently available at 1/3 with $10 potentially winning $3.33. This isn’t a huge profit, but luckily betting on Olympic basketball offers many opportunities.
Check the over-under markets for the number of points in this game. We estimate Canada will rack up 90 points against the Greeks. It’s 4/5 for them to achieve this. A successful $10 stake would make $8. Meanwhile, it’s 8/15 for them to be the first team to reach 20 points. It’s 6/4 for there to be under 166.5 points. This correlates with our predicted score so it could be a decent prop bet. Players would see returns of $25 if this wager was successful.
Another great option is to choose the match winner and to guess if both teams will score 80 points. Betting on Canada to win is the right idea, but Greece won’t meet the 80-point threshold. This combination is available at 6/4.
Some players will favour the underdog to pull off an upset. It’s 23/10 for Greece to win this game outright. This time, $10 would make $23 in a significant profit. A safer Greek bet would be to back Giannis to finish as the game’s top scorer.
Jamal Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will have something to say about that. The Canadians will also be contenders to put the most points on the board. You could also bet on any of them to finish as the tournament’s top scorer. Georgios Papagiannis is a good wildcard choice to be Greece’s top scorer in this Olympics.
Olympic basketball is typically lower scoring than the NBA, but we still expect Canada to put up a healthy number of points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will contribute heavily to that. SGA is worth 3/4 with our online sportsbook to score over 21.5 points against Greece. He averaged over 30 per game in the NBA last season and will be Canada’s go-to shooter.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is undoubtedly Greece’s star player. Standing at 6’11”, the Greek Freak will be active around both nets. He averaged 11.5 boards in the NBA last season and is 4/6 to pull down over 8.5 rebounds against Canada.
The last point type is another available basketball market. You can opt for a free throw at 7/5 or a two-pointer at 11/10. It’s 11/4 for a three-pointer which could happen if this game goes down to the buzzer.
Maybe you’re looking for a way to apply our welcome bonus. A good option is to back one of the gold medal Olympic contenders. Unsurprisingly, our sportsbook favours Team USA at a prohibitive 2/13. However, Canada is the third favourite this year at 12/1 while Greece is 25/1 outsiders.
It’s not all about the gold medals. Murray and Antetokounmpo are available at 25/1 for anyone betting on the tournament’s MVP Award. You can also get Canada to win the Olympics and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to be MVP at 14/1.
If you think gold is a little ambitious, consider backing Canada to win silver at 3/1. They have strong hopes of a finish on the podium this year and could achieve it. It’s 2/1 for them to reach the final. Before you place a bet, it might be worth checking out Team Canada’s basketball roster, in case the bench players make the difference.
