Canadian Olympic basketball teams have sights set on medals in Paris

There's an immense amount of pride in the heights Canadian basketball has reached entering the Olympics, both on the men's and women's sides.

The Paris Games will see both Canadian basketball teams compete together for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The men's team, ranked seventh globally, returns after a 24-year hiatus, while the fifth-ranked women's team continues its streak with a fourth straight Olympic appearance.

"We recognize the commitment of these players," said Canadian men's team general manager Rowan Barrett, who played for the 2000 Olympic men's team and whose son, RJ Barrett of the Toronto Raptors, is a starter on this year's squad. "We recognize your sacrifice, your selflessness, the grit, the toughness and the steely, steely nerve that we showed especially last summer — it is commendable, it's exemplary.

"We are beaming with pride, watching our countrymen go out there and give it all on the floor for their country."

"There's tremendous pride," Canadian women's GM Denise Dignard said. "Tremendous, tremendous pride in our athletes, our staff. To be able to be in four consecutive Olympics, and now to really drive toward the next step in our program is heartwarming."

The men's side has made a major turn since missing the Tokyo Games 2021.

Canada Basketball got three-year commitments out of 14 players in 2022 — many of them NBA players — and cruised through the competition to enter the FIBA World Cup. It was there that Canada qualified for the Olympics and also defeated the United States for its first-ever World Cup medal with a bronze.

The result also bumped Canada from 15th to sixth in the world at the time, and with that, a new light was shed on the team.

"It gave us a lot of confidence," said forward Dillon Brooks, who plays for the Houston Rockets. "Guys that have been plugged in (for the Olympics) have the same confidence.

"It just puts a whole different light on us but we're ready for it and not to fall into and just every game, every day, one step at a time."

WATCH | Canada's men's basketball on hunt for gold at Paris Games:

Canada now stands among the favourites to reach the podium in Paris, a significant shift from past expectations, given its lone Olympic medal — a silver at the 1936 Games. Hopes are bolstered by a roster that includes 11 of 12 players who are current or former NBA players, including Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray, who opted out of last year's World Cup.

However, as Oklahoma City Thunder guard and NBA MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander puts it, the team doesn't care about external expectations.

"We don't really worry about the expectations," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We know who's in the gym, we know that doesn't get us anything.