Paris Olympics Basketball Preview
We are just days away from the 2024 Paris Olympics and the excitement is palpable. Athletes from all corners of the globe are making their way to the Olympic Village on their quest for gold. Team Canada has named 338 athletes as part of its Olympic team, along with 369 National Sport Organization (NSO) support staff and coaches. Twelve of those athletes belong to Team Canada’s basketball roster.
There is a keen level of intrigue surrounding Canada’s basketball hopes at the Paris Olympics. Several players have starred in the NBA. But can they reach the podium for the second time in history?
Team Canada Basketball History
Canada has reached the podium in Olympic basketball just once in history, 88 years ago. Team USA defeated them in Berlin in 1936 with their best effort since coming in 1984 when they finished fourth. Team Canada has placed just once this century, finishing seventh in 2000. As usual, the USA are favourites, worth -833 with our online sportsbook.
The USA has achieved gold in all but one men’s Olympic basketball event this century, winning bronze in 2004. They have historically been the team to beat, but Canada has a real chance in Paris 2024. We project Canada will finish on the podium as they are the third favourite in the Olympic basketball betting odds behind France and the US.
Got our guy.
Welcome to Brooklyn, coach Fernández! pic.twitter.com/unTgOh0vPA
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 22, 2024
Jordi Fernandez will lead Canada as head coach in the Olympics. He was handed his first opportunity at the helm of an NBA team in April when they named him the new head of the Brooklyn Nets. Canada finished third in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023, defeating the USA in the third-place playoff game under his tutelage. That was their best finish at the tournament in nearly 30 years. The 2024 Paris Olympics will be the first time a standing NBA head coach has led Canada’s basketball team.
Fernandez was an assistant coach at the Denver Nuggets between 2016 and 2022, part of the staff that oversaw the Nuggets’ division title victories in 2019 and 2020. He has already experienced success in his young coaching career and with one of the best team Canada basketball rosters in decades at his disposal, there is real optimism in the Great White North.
Team Canada Basketball Predictions Paris 2024
Team Canada plays their first basketball game on July 27 against Greece. Giannis Antetokounmpo will lead Greece out in Paris 2024 alongside several players who have starred for their FIBA teams in Europe. Greece will be the underdogs and a bet on Canada is worth -238. This can serve as a great launching point for Team Canada on their way to the podium in Paris.
Australia and Spain round out Team Canada’s basketball opponents in Group A. These will be tough tests for Jordi Fernandez’s team. Australia won bronze in 2020 and Spain matched that in 2016. Spain has a strong history of Olympic basketball. They have claimed silver three times, most recently in 2012. This will not be an easy group for Team Canada’s basketball roster by any means, but we expect them to fight through the preliminary rounds and reach the quarterfinals.
Santi Aldama is the lone NBA star among Spain’s roster. The rest appear for FIBA teams in Spain, Greece, and Israel with one free agent. Despite their previous successes at the Olympics, they are +5000 outsiders to take home the gold in Paris. Spain doesn’t boast the talent they once did with the Gasol brothers long retired.
Australia will be a tough team to beat. They recently played the Olympic betting favourites, Team USA, in a warmup game. Australia narrowly lost 95-92 and looked impressive, even in defeat. Team Australia is also an outsider for the gold medal at +5000. The Chicago Bulls point guard, Josh Giddey, will be the star of this team. The 21-year-old had a strong season for the Oklahoma City Thunder and much of Australia’s success will come through his efforts.
Canada should top Group A. They will face tests along the way but their roster far outshines Spain, Australia and Greece. Jordi Fernandez’s team are favourites to win the group and will find tougher tasks beyond. According to Olympic basketball odds France, the USA, Germany and Serbia should make it out of Groups B and C. A tie with any of these sides in the quarterfinals will be far more competitive.
Team Canada Basketball Olympics Betting Tips
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the best players in the NBA last season. There were calls for him to take home the end-of-season MVP award, but he narrowly missed out to Nikola Jokić, who will appear for Team Serbia.
Team USA has a host of MVP favourites in this tournament, but SGA has as good a chance as the likes of Jokic and France’s Victor Wembanyama to take home the tournament MVP award. He is priced at +1600 to do just that with our online sportsbook, and following his star-making season in 2024 SGA is worth a longshot bet.
"This man averaged 30 … [OKC has] the #1 overall seed with 57 wins." 📈 @stephenasmith on why he believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should have won the NBA MVP 👀 pic.twitter.com/chSn6tym1U
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 9, 2024
Sticking with the Oklahoma man, SGA had one of his best scoring seasons in 2024. He upped his efficiency in the paint and from deep and will be Team Canada’s main point scorer. Olympic basketball is typically lower scoring than the NBA, but SGA can still come up big. We like a bet on the guard to score over 22.5 points in Team Canada’s opener against Greece.
Every scorer needs a playmaker, and Team Canada has an excellent one in Jamal Murray. The Denver Nuggets man averaged 7.1 apg in the regular season last year and will link up perfectly with the likes of SGA and RJ Barrett in Paris. We like a wager on Murray to record over 6.5 assists in the game against Greece.
Canada Men’s National Basketball Team Players
Several NBA stars in this roster can lead Canada to glory. They boast All-Stars and NBA champions as well as young talent. Let’s take a look at the Team Canada basketball roster in full.
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves – NBA)
- RJ Barrett (Toronto Raptors – NBA)
- Khem Birch (Bàsquet Girona – Liga ACB)
- Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets – NBA)
- Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA)
- Melvin Ejim (Unicaja – Liga ACB)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA)
- Trey Lyles (Sacramento Kings – NBA)
- Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets – NBA)
- Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers – NBA)
- Kelly Olynyk (Toronto Raptors – NBA)
- Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks – NBA)
Team Canada Basketball Roster: Ones to Watch
While there are several talented players on the Canada basketball roster, some deserve to be picked out. Below are the standout players to watch at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SGA starred in Oklahoma City Thunder’s unlikely run to the playoffs in 2024. Since being selected 11th overall in the 2018 NBA draft, the 26-year-old’s career has consistently been on the up. He secured back-to-back All-Star selections last season and controversially missed out on the end-of-season MVP award.
The 6’6” guard finished whiskers away from the famed 50/40/90 club with a shooting split of 53/35/87 in his highest volume season to date. He averaged 30.1 ppg, 6.2 apg and 5.5 rpg. SGA is undoubtedly the biggest star on the Team Canada roster and will play a leading role in any success.
Jamal Murray
Jamal Murray is the only man on Team Canada’s basketball roster with a ring to his name. He played a starring role in the Denver Nuggets’ NBA championship-winning season in 2023. The point guard averaged 20 ppg during that regular season as well as 26.1 in the playoffs along with 5.7 rpg and 7.1 apg. In 2024, Murray matched his best scoring season, averaging 21.2 with an excellent split of 48/42/85. His championship experience and mentality will make him a prominent leader in this team.
RJ Barrett
Picked third overall in 2019, RJ Barrett was one of the highest-rated young players in the world. However, he didn’t quite hit the heights expected of him during his first few seasons in the NBA. That is until they traded him to the Toronto Raptors last season. Barrett’s numbers, since his move to Toronto, are the best we have ever seen from him. He finished 2024 on 20.2 ppg (21.8 in a Raptors jersey), 5.4 rpg and 3.3 apg with a split of 49/36/71. His split for Toronto was 55/39/62. Barrett is on a high right now and can take his form to Paris.
Luguentz Dort
Luguentz Dort showed his ability as an excellent three-point shooter in 2024. He shot 39% from deep last season in one of the highest volume campaigns in his career. Dort is great on defence and while he may not put up numbers like the players we have named so far, he will work as hard as anyone. It is this kind of player, with a strong work ethic and never-say-die attitude, that are the difference makers when the going gets tough.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
The New Orleans Pelicans drafted Nickeil Alexander-Walker 17th overall in the 2019 NBA draft. The 6’5” shooting guard spent three years in NOLA and became a solid sixth man for the Pelicans. They traded Alexander-Walker to the Utah Jazz in 2022 before arriving at the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2023, where he currently plays.
He appeared in every game throughout the regular and postseason last year, helping Minnesota to the conference finals with his best-scoring season, notching 665 points (771 inc. postseason). His shooting split of 43/39/80 in his second-highest volume shooting season was excellent in 2024 and he can ride that momentum into Paris.
