A new era has begun for Canada's men's basketball program. Head coach Gord Herbert was officially introduced to the media on Monday at the Raptors' training facility in Toronto, alongside general manager Rowan Barrett, while RJ Barrett looked on and other Canadian players got a workout in on the court.
A Homecoming for Herbert
It's a homecoming for Herbert, who played for Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and other tournaments, and was an assistant several times, most recently as associate coach alongside Nick Nurse for the 2021 qualifying tournament in Victoria. The 67-year-old Penticton, B.C., native also spent a year as an assistant for the Raptors under Sam Mitchell and then his replacement Jay Triano, Herbert's former Canadian teammate. Herbert has coached for decades in Europe and led Germany to gold at the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and a bronze medal loss to Serbia in France the next year at the Olympics.
"We managed to find our way to the podium (bronze over the USA in 2023)," Rowan Barrett said Monday. "I think it was a great step for us and, naturally, this (four-year window) our expectation is to get to the top of the podium. We believe that we have the athletes. We believe we have the experience, and now, we believe we have the coaching set in place for us to take that next step."
Commitments and Missing Stars
Back-to-back NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has made the three-summer commitment to play for Canada that Herbert and Barrett set in place. Fellow NBA players to commit include stars RJ Barrett (19.3 points per game this NBA season), Dillon Brooks (a career-high 20.2), Most Improved Player winner Nickeil Alexander-Walker (20.8), Andrew and Ryan Nembhard, Lu Dort, Leonard Miller, Will Riley and Kyshawn George, along with veterans Kelly Olynyk, Khem Birch and others playing in Europe.
"When I start with the national team program, I give a vision. It's not where we were, it's not where we are, but where we're going, so to speak," Herbert said. "And the vision I give for us going forward is gold medal at the World Cup, gold at the Olympics." They've got the talent and depth to contend. The headlines, though, will likely centre on who wasn't able to lock in for three summers (this year's World Cup qualifying games, the big event itself in Qatar in 2027 and the 2028 L.A. Olympics).
Which players couldn't commit to Canada? Those players would be Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray — coming off his first All-NBA and all-star season — Miami's Andrew Wiggins, who remains a solid two-way player, and rising Portland wing Shaedon Sharpe. "No, Jamal Murray is not committed to the program, playing moving forward. As I said, this is a guy that is playing for Canada since he was a child. He's got tremendous desire for the country, but as I shared before, sometimes there's things going on with the athletes that sometimes prevent them from doing that," the elder Barrett said.
With Wiggins, Sharpe and others, contact was made, discussions had in some cases, but no commitments were made. With a bigger player pool than ever before, Canada is in a position to do what it feels is best. This was how Germany operated under Herbert. Big men Isaiah Hartenstein (who just lost the West final with Oklahoma City to San Antonio) couldn't play one summer and veteran Maxi Kleber couldn't either, so they were left off the eventual World Cup championship squad. Captain Dennis Schroder felt strongly that the rules Herbert had put into place should be respected, even if it cost the team some talent and size.
Team Mentality Over Individual Talent
"In the past we used to sit with the national team, get our best players to play, get our best group of players to play. It's not enough anymore," Herbert said. "You need your best group of players to commit to the national team, commit to the program, commit to the time. You can't start over every year," he said of why the three-year commitment was essential. "We need great players, we need elite talents to win, but we need to create the team mentality first. In the past, we spent too much time picking the team and not enough time developing the team," Herbert said, pointing to needing defined roles. "The national team is not for everybody and that's OK," Herbert said. "We'd rather guys say no than maybe."
Roster Holes and Frontcourt Depth
This group will lean heavily on its elite group of guards and wings, while Herbert and Barrett believe they have some talent up front too, even if 7-foot-3 Memphis centre Zach Edey won't always be available due to injury recovery (Edey has committed, but will only watch camp this year, which starts later this month). The brass believes Mfiondu Kabengele, who had brief stints in the NBA and is a nephew of the late, great Dikembe Mutombo, is one of the best big men playing overseas. Herbert also brought in former Euroleague star Hanno Möttölä to work with Canada's front-court players, starting with a big man camp ahead of the main camp. The other assistant coaches will be Raptors assistant/developmental guru Jama Mahlalela and Nathaniel Mitchell, who stepped in as head coach last summer, has been part of recent staffs and is extremely well-regarded and close with many of Canada's top players.
Canada finished fourth in Paris in 2024, losing a quarterfinal game to host France. Head coach Jordi Fernandez later stepped down after previously being hired after a quick search that was necessitated by the rapid departure of his predecessor, Nurse. Canada believes it has its man now in Herbert to take the program to unprecedented heights. "The last two years, Canada has done well, no doubt about it. And played well, and it was an opportunity to come in and build on that, so to speak," he said. "Being Canadian, playing for Canada, growing up here, it's always been a dream of mine to coach Canada … I think this is a very exciting time for Canada Basketball."
