2023 FIBA World Cup

5 takeaways from Canada's FIBA World Cup win over USA to claim bronze

Canada holds off the USA in an OT thriller to win bronze at the FIBA World Cup.

Brian Martin, for NBA.com

Dillon Brooks dominated for 39 points in Canada’s bronze-medal win over the USA.

It was a highly anticipated matchup that many expected to be for the gold medal entering the FIBA World Cup. But after Canada and the United States were both upset in the semifinals, it set up a clash of the North American rivals for third place, with one team earning a medal and the other leaving the Philippines empty-handed.

Behind a combined 70 points from Dillon Brooks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada prevailed in a thrilling overtime game, 127-118, as the teams put on quite a spectacle for the sellout crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.

Here are five key takeaways from Sunday’s game as the FIBA World Cup comes to a close for both teams.

1. Canada earns first-ever FIBA World Cup medal, adds new dimension to USA rivalry

After decades of being the dominant basketball team not only in North America, but across the world, the United States now has an emerging rival in their neighbors to the north.

Canada entered the 2023 FIBA World Cup having never medaled in the event’s history, with their only medal in major international competition coming in the 1936 Olympics when they won the silver. But with a roster stacked with young NBA talent – led by All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — this Canadian team isn’t going away anytime soon.

Based on their play in the World Cup, both Canada and the United States have qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and after the show these two teams put on, fans will be clamoring for a rematch next summer.

2. USA had no answers for Dillon Brooks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

After being beaten up for four straight games against bigger European squads, the US faced a Canadian team ready to play an NBA-style game that suited both teams. To put it simply, Canada beat the US at their own game with superior execution and shot making throughout much of the game.

Dillon Brooks was on fire in the opening half, making all five of his 3-point shots and leading all players with 21 points, as Canada held a two-point lead at the break. He didn’t cool off much in the second half, as he finished with 39 points on 12-of-18 (67%) shooting from the field and 7-of-8 (88%) from 3-point range.

As great as Brooks was on both ends of the court with his 3-point shooting and his defense on Team USA star Anthony Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander’s all-around brilliance was incredible as he finished with 31 points – including the first seven of the overtime session as Canada took control – 12 assists and six rebounds in 40 minutes.

While the Canadian duo of Brooks and Gilgeous-Alexanders combined for 70 points, the top two USA scorers – Anthony Edwards with 24 and Austin Reaves with 23 – combined for 47.

3. Another slow start forces USA to play from behind nearly the entire game

Slow starts plagued this US team throughout the World Cup as they constantly dug themselves double-digit holes to climb out of and essentially played from behind from start to finish. Take a look at the time-leading disparity in this game that needed overtime to decide the winner: Canada led for 35:01 while the US led for just 5:11.

On Sunday, it took just over six minutes for the US to find themselves down by double digits as they trailed 23-13 with 3:55 to play in the opening quarter. The teams went back and forth the rest of the way as Canada took a 34-25 lead after the opening period.

The US had an emphatic answer coming off the bench to start the second quarter, as they opened the period on a 19-2 run to take their first lead of the game. The run featured much of the usual second unit for the US – Tyrese Haliburton, Reaves, Bobby Portis and Cam Johnson. Of course, the US lineups were thrown out of whack with Jaren Jackson Jr. (who had started every game) and Paolo Banchero (who was Jackson’s primary backup as a small-ball five) joining Brandon Ingram (who missed the semifinal game against Germany) as out due to illness.

As impressive as that run was for the US, the Canadians absorbed the blow and even landed a few counterpunches for the remainder of the half as they took a two-point lead into the locker room. The next big run in the game came with under five minutes left in the third quarter as Canada turned a one-point lead (74-73) into a nine-point lead (91-82) entering the fourth quarter, once again forcing the US to rally in order to stay in the game.

4. Mikal Bridges pulls off a miracle to force OT, but USA stumbles in extra five minutes

In the final 20 seconds of regulation, it appeared that Brooks was ready to cap off his outstanding game – which drew MVP chants from the crowd – as he drew a foul with 20 seconds left and knocked down both free throws to give Canada a 111-107 lead, then following it up by blocking a jump shot by Reaves with eight seconds to play.

However, Reaves secured the offense rebound and put up another jumper that missed, but Mikal Bridges crashed the offensive glass and drew a loose ball foul on Canada with four seconds left. Trailing by four points, there was only one strategy to go, and the odds of pulling it off were minuscule, to say the least.

Bridges stepped to the free throw line and calmly sank the first free throw to cut the lead to three points. Now it was time for some magic, as Bridges intentionally missed the second free throw, which caromed toward the right baseline, Canada inexplicably failed to box out Bridges, who scurried to the loose ball, collected it, spun himself back to the corner and rose up for a 3-point shot over the outstretched hand of Brooks, who provided a late contest.

The 3-pointer splashed through with 0.4 seconds remaining and sent the crowd, the USA bench and former Team USA stars (and current FIBA ambassadors) Sue Bird and Carmelo Anthony into a frenzy as Bridges pulled off the play of the game, and one of the top plays in the entire tournament.

Watch this version of the replay, in which you can hear the Canadian coaching staff screaming “box out” just as Bridges is getting ready to attempt his intentional miss.

Canada called timeout to advance the ball and Kelly Olynyk got off a good look from 30 feet away that was on line, but just a little long, as it bounced off the back of the rim as the buzzer sounded. With the score somehow tied at 111-111, the game went to overtime, but the US could not carry over the momentum from Mikal’s Miracle into the extra five minutes.

In a crucial stretch, the US committed turnovers on three straight possessions as Canada seized back control and closed out the game.

5. Which players from Team USA will be part of the 2024 Olympic roster?

With the United States returning from the World Cup without a medal, and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris just 290 days away, the questions are already mounting about which players from this team will be part of the Olympic roster.

The Olympics always draws out more star players for Team USA, and the chatter about which superstars would join up for the Paris Games got extremely loud following the United States’ loss to Germany that forced them out of the gold medal game. Considering the US suffered another defeat and surrendered the most points they ever had while featuring NBA players – 110 vs. Lithuania, 113 vs. Germany and 127 against Canada – that talk is only going to intensify in the coming days, weeks and months.

Anthony Edwards (team-high 18.9 points per game) was outstanding for the US throughout the FIBA World Cup and will be part of Team USA’s future for years to come. It would be hard to see him not suiting up for the US next summer. Haliburton provided great playmaking (team-high 5.6 assists in just 21.5 minutes per game) and shooting, while Bridges was the team’s top two-way player in the World Cup as he contributed on both ends of the court. Both players made strong cases to be included on next year’s Olympic roster.

Reaves (13.8 ppg) finished as the second-leading scorer behind Edwards and was great offensively with his scoring and playmaking. However, he was constantly hunted by opposing teams on defense, forcing the US to provide help and double team, which often led to open looks for opposing shooters. Jaren Jackson Jr. struggled with foul trouble for much of the tournament which limited his effectiveness and exposed Team USA’s lack of size.

Jalen Brunson, Paolo Banchero, Josh Hart and Bobby Portis all had great moments during this tournament and should be in competition for a spot on the Olympic team. Brandon Ingram struggled through much of the tournament, even with a lineup change to move him to the second unit, before missing the final two games due to illness. Cam Johnson was unable to provide consistent outside shooting, while Walker Kessler was seldom used for much of the tournament before starting in place of Jackson in the bronze medal game.

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