Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will lead Canada into bronze medal game against USA
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Canada Basketball came up just short of vying for a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Now, they’ll have to settle for a shot at bronze against a team we’re all familiar with.
Canada fell in the semifinals of the World Cup early Friday morning over in Asia, losing to 6th-ranked Serbia by a final score of 95-86. The loss moves No. 15 Canada into the third-place game where they’ll go up against No. 2 United States, which shockingly lost its semifinal matchup later the same morning to Germany in a high-scoring 113-111 showdown. Canada and the USA will meet in a battle of North America on Sunday morning at the early, early tipoff time of 4:45 a.m. EST on ESPN+. Set your alarms now.
But let’s back up for a second and talk about Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance in the loss to Serbia. The former Kentucky guard/current Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star played arguably his worst game of the entire event. After dropping back-to-back 30-burgers, he was limited to just 15 points (his second-fewest out of seven games played) in 34 minutes. SGA did dish out nine assists and recorded three steals, but eight total shots from Canada’s superstar was not nearly enough to get the job done.
Instead, Canada relied upon RJ Barrett’s (Knicks) 23 points and Dillon Brooks’ (Rockets) 16 points. The team as a whole still shot over 48 percent from the field and made 10 three-pointers, but without another special performance from SGA, there was little hope of taking down a tough Serbian squad led by Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who dropped 23 points in his country’s win. Canada trailed by as many as 17 points early in the fourth quarter. Serbia shot over 62 percent from the floor and made 71 percent of its two-pointers.
“He’s one of the best players I’ve seen in my career,” Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic said postgame. “He was an additional motivation for our team to take him out of the game.”
In spite of the loss, Gilgeous-Alexander still has Canada in prime position to make history. Not only can Canada medal at the World Cup for the first time ever with a win over the United States on Sunday, but beating the Americans would mark Canada’s first-ever win over their neighbors to the south on the international stage. A win for Canada would likely lock up Most Valuable Player for SGA too, who has inarguably been the most dominant performer at this event. Through seven games, he’s averaged 23.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.9 steals in 30.9 minutes per outing on shooting splits of 54.3/29.6/87.3.
As for the United States, it’s tough to say that anything short of a gold medal game appearance isn’t a disappointment. They were the highest-ranked country left in the World Cup once the quarterfinals began, but could never get into the same rhythm fans have become accustomed to over the last few decades. Germany, led by multiple current NBA players, had the USA’s numbers for nearly the entire game. An overwhelming talent advantage for the United States is no longer the case.
When Canada and the US meet on Sunday, Gilgeous-Alexander will go up against the likes of Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Mikal Bridges (Nets), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), and Josh Hart (Knicks) in the backcourt. That won’t be an easy task by any means, but SGA is more than capable of taking a game over by himself — he’s already done it multiple times in just the last two weeks. A win would earn Canada Basketball its ninth-ever medal since joining FIBA in 1936.
Regardless of what happens with Canada and SGA on Sunday, they’ll be participating in next year’s 2024 Paris Olympics. The Canadians locked up their 10th-ever appearance at the Olympics and first since 2000 after taking down top-ranked Spain earlier in the World Cup. Get used to watching Gilgeous-Alexander go up against international competition for the foreseeable future. The 25-year-old is only getting better.
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