Many hockey fans are still upset about the NHL's decision last year to not allow players to play in the Olympics. Who didn't enjoy watching NHL superstars like Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux suiting up for Canada?
Fortunately, the NBA is not following suit and the top basketball players in the world are still allowed to play in the Olympics. Of course, for the last decade or so the United States has dominated with superstar players like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.
Meanwhile, international basketball has shown a resurgence recently. The first wave of international stars, led by Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, Spain's Pau Gasol and France's Tony Parker, have retired or are close. The next wave is led by Greek phenom Yannis Antekonmpo of Milwaukee.
Other strong international players include France's Rudy Gobert (Utah), Australia's Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) and Serbia's Nikola Jokic (Denver).
Canada has made some big strides recently in terms of NBA talent. Canada has 11 players listed on NBA rosters, the most of any country. It wasn't long ago when there were only two or three. Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is the best Canadian player ever and no doubt helped set the stage for Canadian basketball for years.
Although no one will likely touch the U.S. for gold if they bring a half decent roster, there is no reason that Canada can't compete for a silver or bronze in the 2020 Winter Olympics and beyond.
Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been the top Canuck recently. Although he hasn't improved a lot from his rookie season, he's still a decent player averaging 15 points and almost four rebounds per game. Jamal Murray is young but improving each year. He's putting up 17.3 points and 4.7 assists per game for the Denver Nuggets so far this year.
That's a pretty solid backcourt, I would say. Throw in big men like 7-0 Kelly Olynyk from Miami, heck, his name kind of sounds like Olympic; 6-9 tough guy Tristan Thompson of Cleveland, who won an NBA championship with Lebron; and 6-10 Trey Lyles of Denver, and you've got some size and grit.
The future of Canadian basketball, and a possible key player on that 2020 team, is R.J. Barrett. Barrett is currently a freshman guard at powerhouse Duke and averaging an impressive 24 points and seven rebounds per game. He was the top-ranked prospect out of high school, a true Canadian All-American, and is expected to be a top three pick in this year's NBA draft.
The catch for all these players is that some may not play for whatever reason, whether it's injuries, or wanting rest, or time off. But for Barrett, his father is the assistant general manager of the Canadian national team and a former star for the national team. So it appears likely he would suit up for his country and hopefully others will follow.
– Craig Lindsay is the reporter for the Mountain View Gazette
