Canada has never won an Olympic gold medal for basketball.
But all that could be about to change in Paris over the next fortnight when Canada -- who have the second shortest odds to win the gold medal behind Team USA -- take to the hardwood for the 2024 Summer Games.
For as long as anyone can remember, Canada has lived in the shadow of the all-conquering Team USA.
In nine Olympic appearances, Canada has won one medal in basketball -– a silver at the 1936 Games in Berlin -- and last qualified for the tournament in 2000, when they finished 7th.
Fast forward to 2024 and Team Canada has their greatest ever roster, spearheaded by perennial MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The 26-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder star was officially crowned runner-up for the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award last season behind Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
SGA's ascension from gangly prospect to one of the most prolific and dynamic one-on-one scorers in the NBA has been one of The Association's biggest story-lines over the past few seasons.
The 6ft 6in guard has combined flash, flair and fundamentals into one unflappable 30 point-per-game scorer and virtual unstoppable offensive juggernaut.
He's also had a leadership role thrust upon him.
OKC general manager and draft savant Sam Presti has rebuilt the Thunder from the ground up in the post Durant-Westbrook-Harden years, meaning last season's team had an average age of 23.9 years old (weighted by playing time), the youngest for any No.1 seed in history.
SGA has had to grow up quicker than most 26-year-old's and is now the de facto leader of the Thunder's hungry young core - as well as his national team.
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When Gilgeous-Alexander steps onto the court in Lille later this week, he’ll become the second Olympian in his family.
Shai's mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, represented Antigua and Barbuda in the women's 400 meters at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games - the same Games that saw Michael Jordan's Dream Team win gold in the men's basketball.
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The 52-year-old former sprinter, with a personal best of 55.48 in the 400m, finished fifth in the opening heats and did not advance.
"I never ran anything over 400 meters," she says. "That means I know what the goal is, and I don't do anything until I get the goal. That's how I'm orientated. And I knew I needed my kids to be like this. I had to raise them that way."
Gilgeous-Alexander was born in Toronto but hails from Hamilton, roughly an hour south along the westernmost contours of Lake Ontario in Canada.
Charmaine was a single mother to Shai and his brother Thomasi and reportedly never made a lot of money as a social worker.
The family had to move around often and there were constant pressures but Charmaine always made sure her sons ate right, did their homework, and looked good when they left the house.
"I don't play about how you look," she said. "My kids could run amok in my house, but when they stepped out that door, you better, as we say, 'fix up.'
"You better get it together."
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'You better get it together' would have been solid advice to Canada Basketball over the past half a century.
Since 1976, Canada’s top result at the Olympics has been a fourth-place finish, twice - on home court during the ‘76 Montreal Games, and in Los Angeles in '84.
After years of irrelevance, Canada are finally back on the grandest stage of all and one of the few teams with a legitimate shot of upsetting LeBron James and Steph Curry's Team USA.
Canada’s roster features 11 players with NBA experience - SGA is the headline name alongside NBA champion and Nuggets star, Jamal Murray.
Beyond the backcourt, the likes of Luguentz Dort, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett, Dwight Powell, Andrew Nembhard and Kelly Olynyk have extensive NBA experience that, outside of Team USA, is hard to find.
They're also one of the few teams who have beaten the US in recent times.
Canada qualified for the 2024 Olympics after beating the United States in the bronze-medal game at last year’s FIBA World Cup - Canada’s first medal in an international tournament since the 1936 Summer Olympics.
The US got revenge in a pre-Olympic exhibition match on July 10, beating Canada 86-72. But since then, the Canadians have beaten Victor Wembanyama's France, 85-73, and Puerto Rico, 103-93.
SGA led the scoring against France with 23 points before chipping in 14 points, three rebounds and six assists against Puerto Rico.
His shifty movements and ability to score with jump shots, floaters and layups have made him impossible to guard, and Canada will need him at his best if they're to have any chance of upsetting the US in Paris.
But before the knockout stages of the Olympics, Canada must first navigate Group A - dubbed the 'Group of Death'.
They open up on July 27 against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece before clashes with powerhouse nations Australia and Spain.
Should they get through the group, a date with destiny -- and the US -- could well be on the cards.
