LAS VEGAS — Canada finalized its men's basketball roster for the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, with eight of the 12 players selected having been part of the run to a bronze medal at last summer's World Cup.
Arsenal Tech graduate Trey Lyles and Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard are among the players on Team Canada's roster.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, Kelly Olynyk, Lugentz Dort, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, RJ Barrett, Dwight Powell and Melvin Ejim are the eight Olympians who were on the World Cup roster a year ago when Canada won a wild bronze-medal game over the U.S. 127-118 in overtime. It was Canada's most significant international medal since winning silver at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The four players on the Olympic team that weren't part of the World Cup: Jamal Murray, Khem Birch.
“Leading our Senior Men’s National Team into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is an incredible honor,” Olynyk said. "Since I began playing basketball, my dream has always been to represent Canada at the Olympics. Last year’s third-place finish at the FIBA World Cup was an important step, proving that we belong among the world’s best teams. However, it also showed us that we still have work to do as we pursue our ultimate goal of winning gold in Paris."
Lyles, a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native, led Arsenal Tech to Indiana's Class 4A state title in 2014, while earning Mr. Basketball honors in the state. He just finished his ninth season in the NBA, averaging 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds a game for the Sacramento Kings this year.
Nembhard started 47 games this past season for Indiana, his second with the Pacers. The Toronto native averaged 9.2 points and 4.1 assists in 68 games.
Purdue standout Zach Edey was invited to training camp for the Canadian team, but later withdrew his name from consideration for the team to prepare for his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis selected the Toronto native with the ninth overall pick in the NBA draft.
"I have a duty now to properly prepare for all that is coming my way with being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies," Edey said in a statement last week. "The work I put in this summer on my body and my game is critical for me to be the best version of myself."
The team opens its exhibition schedule Wednesday in Las Vegas against the United States.
Gilgeous-Alexander is now a second-generation Olympian; his mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, ran for Antigua and Barbuda in the 1992 Barcelona Games. Same goes for Barrett; his father, Rowan Barrett, was on the 2000 Olympic team for Canada and serves as the general manager for Canada's men's national team. And for Ejim, it's a sibling thing; his sister, Yvonne Ejim, will play in France this summer as part of the Canadian women's basketball roster.
“Representing your country at an Olympic Games is one of the greatest honors in sport and something each of these players will never forget the first time they step onto the court,” Rowan Barrett said. “As we build on our success last summer, maintaining the continuity and cohesion we established with that team was vital to assembling this Olympic roster."
The team is coached by Jordi Fernandez of the Brooklyn Nets.
“When we opened camp in Toronto last week, I challenged each of the players to improve 1% each day, and every day since I’ve witnessed the work and dedication they have put in,” Fernández said. “With 17 days to go until our first game of the tournament, that’s an opportunity to get 17% better. From the players to the coaches to the staff, the incredible opportunity ahead of us to do something truly historic for Canada this summer is not lost on anyone.”
Canada will compete in Group A in the Paris Olympics, facing Australia, as well as the winners of the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Greece and Spain.
The men's Olympic basketball tournament starts July 27, with the medal round games scheduled for Aug. 10, 2024.