Canada picks up first win in 24 years in men’s basketball at Olympics

The Canadian men’s basketball team got off to a good start today at the Paris 2024 Olympics, defeating Greece by an 86-79 final.

Despite getting the win, Canada won’t be thrilled with the play late in this one. They held a 10-point lead over Greece in the dying minutes but wound up watching their opponent go on a 10-0 run to make this a very close outing. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to stop the bleeding, however, coming up with a huge basket with just over 40 seconds remaining to calm things down.

Gilgeous-Alexander had himself a solid game with 21 points, but it was Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barett who led the way, scoring a team-high 23. Dillon Brooks also had a solid outing, scoring 14 points while grabbing six defensive rebounds.

To no surprise, Giannis Antetokounmpo carried the load for Greece. The 29-year-old superstar, who actually had to miss time for an unspecified reason in the fourth quarter, finished with a game-high 34 points, along with five rebounds and two assists.

This year’s Games mark the first time Canada has competed in the Olympics in 24 years, meaning that even with the rough finish, they shouldn’t be hanging their heads. It is a great start to what figures to be a difficult tournament. They were placed in Group A, which was quickly labelled the group of death. Along with Greece, it also features Australia and Spain.

The Canadians will now have two days to rest before their next outing, which will be played on Tuesday against Australia. Australia was in action earlier today, defeating Spain by a 92-80 final. Leading the way in that one was Houston Rockets center Jock Landale, who finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.

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