NBA stars headline Canada roster for Olympics

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Canadian senior men’s national basketball team just released its official 20-man pool for the upcoming Olympic Games to be held in Paris, France this coming July.

After a thorough deliberation between the training camp staff and their Olympic committee, a star-studded roster just stunned the hoops world and was also easily identified as one of the deepest squads that can match the firepower of USA Basketball.

Leading the pack of the talented Canadian basketball team are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, Luguentz Dort, RJ Barrett, and Dillon Brooks.

Alexander, the runner-up of the NBA for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award during the 2023-2024 season, will be looking to lead Canada in their quest for a first-ever gold medal in the Olympics.

After a fantastic season with the Oklahoma City Thunder when he helped the franchise reach the Western Conference semifinals, Alexander will be all eyes on the prize when they arrive in Paris and kick off their campaign.

The savvy shooting guard will also be surrounded by elite NBA talents and will be teaming up with Denver’s Murray for an exciting backcourt tandem in the Olympics.

Manning the wings for Canada are Golden State Warriors’ Wiggins, Houston Rocket’s Brooks, Toronto’s Barrett, and Alexander’s teammate in Oklahoma, Dort.

Completing the stacked lineup are Kyle Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Trae Bell-Haynes, Khem Birch, Oshae Brissett, Zach Edey, Melvin Ejim, Mfiondu Kabengele, Trey Lyles, Andrew Nembhard, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell, Phil Scrubb and Thomas Scrubb.

“We determined we need to have continuity and cohesion within our teams said at the time. We have talented teams, we have talented players. But we need them somehow to be together,” said Rowan Barrett, general manager and executive vice president of the senior men’s basketball program.

The Paris Olympics will kick off on July 26, 2024, and will end on August 11, 2024. Canada will look to top their silver medal finish during the 1936 edition of the Olympics in Berlin.