For most fans of the NBA, the league season is the only basketball that they take seriously. But international basketball is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, with the EuroBasket this summer drawing attention from a lot more fans than it ever has in the past. And that’s not the only one people have an eye on; the FIBA World Cup and Olympic basketball are as relevant as ever.
Team USA has also been dominant for its long history when it comes to international basketball. They have won the most medals and have put out some truly iconic teams. When it seemed like they were slipping from their place atop the mountain, they had the Dream Team in the 90s and then the similarly iconic Redeem Team in the late 2000s to keep a firm hold of their throne.
But since then, other nations have been strengthening as well. In today’s landscape, France has an elite team, Greece has Giannis Antetokounmpo, Slovenia has Luka Doncic, and Spain and Argentina are as tough to deal with as ever. But one team that doesn’t often get spoken about is now demanding some attention as well.
RJ Barrett Claims Canada Is A Force To Be Reckoned With In Basketball
One of the big stories of this season so far has been the emergence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been playing at a borderline MVP level. Andrew Wiggins was one of the candidates for Finals MVP last season, playing out of his mind to help the Warriors win it all. And RJ Barrett is another upcoming superstar, another promising young talent who is Canadian. So he took the time to remind the world of the talent they have at their disposal.
“Put some respect on Canada’s name. We’re nice.”
– RJ Barrett on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Andrew Wiggins pic.twitter.com/DRvNzimG7A
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 19, 2022
“Put some respect on Canada’s name. We’re nice.”
These three are far from the only great players Canada has, Jamal Murray, Kelly Olynyk, Lu Dort, and Dillon Brooks are also all Canadians, as is rookie sensation Benedict Mathurin. They can field a roster of all NBA players the next time they get an opportunity in international play.
With the talent being as diluted as it has been in recent times, international basketball tournaments promise to be a lot of fun moving forward. It’s an exciting time to be a fan of basketball in other nations, although longtime fans of Team USA will be sweating a little about what all this means for their dominance.
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