‘No is better than maybe’: Canadian men’s basketball team emphasizes commitment as it sets path to LA28

Once again, commitment is the name of the game for the Canadian men’s basketball team.

As another new coach takes over — Gordie Herbert of Penticton, B.C., is now officially in charge — the message to players is that “no is better than maybe.”

On Monday, Herbert and general manager Rowan Barrett announced a group of 23 players who will be in training camp this summer ahead of two blocks of World Cup qualifying.

“If guys don’t commit this summer, they’re not in,” Herbert said.

The group of commitments includes the likes of two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Toronto Raptors star RJ Barrett and defence-first wings Lu Dort and Dillon Brooks.

Not included? Jamal Murray. The Denver Nuggets star and Kitchener, Ont., native said no.

Which means, according to Rowan Barrett, that there is no path for him to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

WATCH | Most Likely To … Canada’s men’s basketball team edition:

Even without Murray, however, Herbert’s vision for the team is simple: “gold at the World Cup, gold at the Olympics.”

Reinforced by Barrett: “Our expectation is to get to the top of the podium.”

Easy enough to say. Much harder to accomplish for a team that was eliminated by France in the quarterfinals at the 2024 Olympics after claiming bronze at the World Cup the year prior.

Herbert and Barrett laid out their plan for the next three summers in the lead-up to the Olympics on Monday, with commitment being the No. 1 priority.

It begins next month, when Canada will play World Cup qualifiers in Hamilton, Ont., against Puerto Rico on July 3 and Jamaica on July 6. Around 16 of the 23 players on the training-camp roster will make that team. There is additionally a group of about 50 players who have committed to the program and who can be pulled from at any time, per Barrett.

The pool of 23 will also produce the final roster for an Aug. 31 qualifier in Quebec City.

“To a certain extent, in the past, we used to say with the national team, get our best players to play. It’s not enough,” said Herbert, who competed for Canada at the 1984 Olympics. “It’s not enough. You need your best group of players to come in to the national team, commit to the program, commit to the time date. My definition of commitment is this a player, person who is focused on what he can give. These are the players we want.”

Prioritizing development over selection

Herbert, who coached Germany to World Cup gold and a fourth-place Olympic finish during the last quadrennial, said a team-first mentality is a core tenet of his coaching philosophy.

“In the past, I believe we spent too much time picking the team, and not enough time developing the team. And when I talk about team mentality, I’m very big on roles. Your role players cannot try to be superstars. But your superstars need to do dirty work,” he said.

To that point, the summer group does not come off as simply the best 23 Canadians in the NBA.

Not included are the likes of NBA role players AJ Lawson and Dalano Banton, while EuroLeaguers Khem Birch, Mfiondu Kabengele and Thomas Kennedy will all be present.

What those three have in common — and what Lawson and Banton lack — is pure size, which has long been a weakness of the Canadian team. Injured big men Zach Edey and Dwight Powell will also be around at training camp.

Herbert, 67, met with a group of about 30 players last summer, when he posed the question of whether they wanted to play NBA-style basketball with FIBA experience, or FIBA-style basketball with NBA experience.

Gilgeous-Alexander raised his hand first and immediately said it was the latter.

“The FIBA game’s different. 40-minute game. Very physical. There’s a post game and in the NBA, there isn’t much post game. We got to learn how to play post defence to a certain extent because a lot of the NBA players, there’s nothing in the post,” Herbert said.

“I think the great thing, too, these players have played FIBA. The core group has played FIBA for the last two years. They understand kind of what we need to, what we can do better, and what we can keep doing.”

Herbert, too has FIBA background — something Barrett cited as a prerequisite for Canada Basketball as it looked to fill the role vacated by Jordi Fernandez after the Paris Olympics.

While he also coaches the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League — a mostly Australian pro league — Herbert will be available to lead Canada in every international window ahead of Los Angeles.

“Gordie, like I said, is one of the best coaches in the world. And I think we are fortunate to have him here in Canada. And now we’re going to go out and work to perform,” Barrett said. “The country has expectation. The players have expectation, and we at Canada Basketball have expectation. We believe that we can be a team to stand on top of the podium. We believe we have the players, the maturity, the experience and believe that we have a coach that can do it. So now it’s for us to go out there and do it.”

Next to Herbert will be assistant coaches Jama Mahlalela, who works with the Raptors; Nathaniel Mitchell, who was head coach for Canada’s first four World Cup qualifiers as it went 4-0; and Hanni Mottola, a Finnish coach who specializes in teaching big men.

A little over three years remain until the Los Angeles Olympics begin, but there is not much time for the team between now and then. Herbert said it would have about 20 days this summer, and three weeks plus the World Cup — if Canada qualifies — next summer.

Qualification for the World Cup, which takes place in Qatar, features six competition windows and two rounds. Canada has already advanced to Round 2, from which seven of 12 teams will book World Cup spots.

Full roster

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Atlanta Hawks)

• RJ Barrett (Toronto Raptors)

• Charles Bediako (Scarborough Shooting Stars, CEBL)

• Aaron Best (MoraBanc Andorra, Spain)

• Khem Birch (Fenerbahçe, Turkey)

• Dillon Brooks (Phoenix Suns)

• Marcus Carr (Würzburg Baskets, Germany)

• Nate Darling (Elan Chalon, France)

• Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder)

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)

• Kyshawn George (Washington Wizards)

• Kur Jongkuc (Vancouver Bandits, CEBL)

• Mfiondu Kabengele (Dubai Basketball)

• Thomas Kennedy (Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, Slovenia)

• Bennedict Mathurin (Los Angeles Clippers)

• Leonard Miller (Chicago Bulls)

• Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers)

• Ryan Nembhard (Dallas Mavericks)

• Kelly Olynyk (San Antonio Spurs)

• Will Riley (Washington Wizards)

• Kassius Robertson (Gran Canaria, Spain)

• Jackson Rowe (Ironi Ness Ziona, Israel)

• Kyle Wiltjer (Reyer Venezia Mestre, Italy)