Canada’s U16 men’s national basketball team received a care package at training camp last week from one of its most well-known alumni.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sent the entire team limited-edition t-shirts commemorating his 2024-25 NBA MVP award. The delivery was a kind gesture from the Oklahoma City Thunder star who has brought a sense of renewed pride for Canadians. That sentiment will carry into the NBA Finals as Gilgeous-Alexander is one of four Canadian players competing in the championship series that begins Thursday night. That number ties a league record for number of Canadians playing in the Finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Thunder guard Lu Dort will put their friendships and national allegiances aside as they face Indiana Pacers guards Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin.
“It’s a triumph for our Canadian basketball system,” Canada Basketball executive vice president and general manager Rowan Barrett said in a phone interview. “These are homegrown athletes who played in the elementary schools, clubs and provincial teams… As they stand on [the NBA Finals] stage, all these parts of our basketball infrastructure have impacted their growth and development.”
Gilgeous-Alexander says he’s been competing against Nembhard since he was nine years old. His friend-turned-temporary foe on the Pacers has been seen rocking Gilgeous-Alexander’s signature sneaker, the Shai 001, during NBA games as a nod of support.
“It’s hard to even wrap your head around,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters this week. “There’s so many kids that played in the same games that we played in and for us to make to this stage is a testament to hard work, our character and the people around us that helped us get here.”
Barrett—whose son, RJ, plays for the Toronto Raptors—is a former national teammate of Steve Nash, the previous last Canadian to win the NBA’s MVP award almost 20 years ago. The former international standout player believes that the added exposure provides momentum for his nation’s grassroots programs as they try to cultivate the NBA stars of tomorrow.
This specific collection of players is helpful to further that point, he says, because of the variety of roles played by defensive specialist Dort or trusted decision-maker Nembhard. It’s reminder to the youth that you don’t have to be a prolific scorer like SGA to be viewed as an impact player.
“Our athletes can see themselves in all these different players,” Barrett said. “Because there’s more than one. That’s what helps our national teams.”
Canada is one of the most represented countries in the NBA, with about two dozen players across all team rosters this past season. NBA agent Mike George—who has represented some of Canada’s best, including Houston Rockets guard Dillon Brooks—believes this showing reminds general managers around the league that Canadians can not only can play at a high level but also, and more importantly, play “winning basketball.”
When it comes to the success of the Canadian men’s national team, he still believes that the squad is “underachieving” after falling in the quarterfinals to France during this past summer Olympics despite a roster full of NBA talent. But the Klutch Sports agent is hopeful for the future, especially with rising teenage stars such as Isaiah Hamilton and Paul Osaruyi in the pipeline.
In the meantime, Canada’s upcoming talent will sit back and watch the current ones go to work vying for an NBA title on the biggest stage as they try to bring their small-market teams to the mountaintop. When asked who Barrett would be rooting for in this series, he admitted he was torn with both teams equally represented.
“I’m cheering for both teams,” he said, laughing. “I’m picking our players.”