Early years As the country credited for bringing forth the inventor of the game, Canada's national team has often been a major competitor at the global stage. The
Western Mustangs basketball team in 1947–48 and 1951–52 coached by
John P. Metras, were the first university team to compete in the trials to select the national team. Through the 70s and 80s, Team Canada consistently placed among the top teams in the world. The emergence of
Steve Nash gave another boost to the team in the 1990s. Yet, great performances became more scarce when he retired.
2009–2016 Canada began the new cycle entering the
2009 FIBA Americas Championship. Canada advanced to the quarterfinals, after posting a 2–2 record in the Preliminary round. A
Uruguay loss to
Argentina on the final day of group play meant that the winner of the Canada-
Dominican Republic game would advance to the semifinals. Canada would go on to defeat them 76–80. In the semi-finals, Canada would lose to top-seeded
Brazil 73–65. By finishing in the top four, this guaranteed the team a place in the
2010 FIBA World Championship held in Turkey. Canada unfortunately finished last (6th) of the Group D, and got ranked 22nd of the
FIBA World Cup. Critics blamed the absence of
Steve Nash,
Samuel Dalembert,
Jamaal Magloire and
Matt Bonner for Canada's disappointing performance at the
2010 FIBA World Championship. Ambitions to gather Canada's most outstanding basketball players for the 2010 squad failed as Nash retired from the national team in 2007, Bonner did not get his citizenship in time, Dalembert was cut from the team after issues with former head coach Rautins With the approaching
2019 FIBA World Cup, Rowan Barrett hired
Toronto Raptors head coach
Nick Nurse to coach Team Canada through the World Cup and possibly the
2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The team withdrew from its
FIBA AmeriCup qualifying games against Cuba on November 29, 2020, and against the U.S. Virgin Islands on November 30, 2020, on the advice of medical experts due to risks posed by the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence on January 20, 2021, the
International Basketball Federation docked the team a point in the standings in addition to a 160,000 Swiss francs fine levied against
Canada Basketball. At the 18th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, Canada was drawn in Group H, with
Australia,
Lithuania, and
Senegal. Canada finished in 21st place, their second worst showing at the men's international tournament. Canada had one last change to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, participating at the
2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments – Victoria. Canada began the Preliminary round finishing with a 2–0 record, advancing to the semi-finals where they would face Czech Republic. A closely fought game, Canada would ultimately fall 101–103 in OT, missing out on the Summer Games for a 5th straight tournament. in Toronto has served Team Canada as home court for most of their matches.
2021–present After numerous setbacks in tournament play, Canada Basketball introduced the concept of the 'Summer Core' consisting of 14 players who were willing to commit to represent Canada for three consecutive summers. This included the
2023 FIBA World Cup and participation at the
2024 Summer Olympics, where the Canadian men are making their first appearance since Nash led them to
Sydney in 2000. In 2022, the Canadians participated at the
19th edition of the
FIBA AmeriCup. They finished group play in second place with a 2–1 record. In the quarter-finals, Canada defeated
Mexico 77–82. In the semi-finals, they were defeated by
Brazil 86–76. They ended the tournament finishing in 4th place, after a narrow 84–80 loss to the
United States, in the third place game.
Dalano Banton, one of the standouts of the tournament, was named to the
All-Tournament Team. On June 27, 2023,
Sacramento Kings assistant coach
Jordi Fernández was hired to replace Nick Nurse as Team Canada's head coach. Leading up to the
2023 FIBA World Cup, Canada Basketball announced a five-game exhibition series where they would play matches in Germany and Spain, against some of the top nations in the world. Canada finished the exhibition tour with a 3–2 record, which included wins over
Germany and
Spain, both of which were higher-ranked. Canada carried their form into the group phase of the World Cup, defeating France 95–65 in the opening match. Canada finished the first group phase with a 3–0 record, and a +111 point differential, following large wins over
Lebanon and
Latvia. However, the team suffered their first loss of the tournament to Brazil in the first game of the second stage. The loss meant that their next match against world number one ranked Spain, was a game Canada had to win if they hoped to gain an automatic berth at the 2024 Olympics.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led a fourth quarter comeback from 12 points down, as Canada edged the defending World champions in an 88–85 victory. The win secured a quarter-final spot and Canada's first Olympic berth since 2000. Canada then defeated
Slovenia in the quarter-final by a score of 100–89, reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time. After a loss to
Serbia in the semi-final, Canada defeated the
United States in the bronze medal game, which went to overtime and concluded 127–118.
Dillon Brooks recorded a team-best 39 points in the game, which secured the team's first global championship medal since 1936. Gilgeous-Alexander became the first Canadian to be named to the
World Cup All-Tournament Team, while Brooks received the Best Defensive Player award. The team was subsequently named
Team of the Year by
The Canadian Press. Canada entered the
2024 Paris Olympics, its first Olympic tournament in 24 years, as one of the favorites for a medal, with its roster including most of its stars from the World Cup as well as additions such as NBA champion
Jamal Murray. After a strong unbeaten performance in the group stage with
Australia,
Spain and
Greece, which was deemed the "group of death" by experts, Canada was surprisingly eliminated in the quarterfinals by hosts
France. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the tournament's All-Second Team. ==Results and fixtures==