After taking over the reins of head coach for Canada from Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse in the summer of 2023, Canada was one of the top three teams at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Even though the nation was without key personnel, including Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray and Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, Canada settled for bronze. Serbia took silver while Germany took home gold.
Canada’s road to bronze was very special. And when Fernandez showed off his expertise in a coaching duel with Steve Kerr, a four-time NBA champion as a head coach, and Team USA in the bronze medal match. The game went down to the wire and needed an overtime period to determine a victor. Down the stretch, Fernandez’s Canada squad executed the best versus the country that has won the most world cups with five as Canada came out on top.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, guard for the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the Canadian National team, has made it known that he is not worried about anybody that may stand in the way of Canada’s quest to gold at the Olympics. His fellow countryman Murray even confirmed that he wants to play at the Paris Olympics.
We know for sure that Team USA will be rolling out a different fully loaded roster from the one sent to the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Serbia being grouped with the red white and blue for the Olympics helps Canada’s road to gold. However, it won’t hurt for the Canadians to see if America can return back to the form they were in at the Tokyo Olympics. By the way, 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic confirmed that he will be playing for Serbia at the Olympics after missing the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Winning the country’s first medal at the FIBA World Cup is enough momentum to build off of heading into the Paris Olympics. Basketball in Canada is at its absolute peak and Fernandez is leading the ship of this determined and hopeful golden generation.
Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Nets on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.