Former Gonzaga star Kelly Olynyk gears up for 2023 FIBA World Cup with Canada

There has been plenty of Canadian talent to come through the Gonzaga men's basketball program over the years. Among the group that includes Robert Sacre, Kevin Pangos and Andrew Nembhard to name a few, former All-American Kelly Olynyk will have a chance at history when he suits up for the Canadian national team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Olynyk, the nine-year NBA veteran playing in his second FIBA World Cup, will play a pivotal role for a Canadian national team that's trying to qualify for its first Olympic Games since 2000. The road won't be easy with international powers France and Spain as potential roadblocks, but there's no doubt this year's Canada team is loaded with NBA talent from top to bottom.

The backcourt is stacked with All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge alongside New York Knicks guard R.J. Barrett. Lugentz Dort, Dillon Brooks and Nickeil Alexander-Walker provide solid depth as well, but the frontcourt outside of Olynyk and Dallas Mavericks center Dwight Powell is relatively thin and inexperienced.

Lack of size was Canada's downfall in 2021 when a team that featured seven NBA players lost to the Czech Republic in the semifinal of the Olympic qualifying tournament. The Canadians were out-rebounded after Powell fouled out in 23 minutes of play, which forced the team to play smaller lineups for the majority of the game.

Enter Olynyk, the 6-foot-11 floppy-haired pro who has played in a combined 47 games between the Canadian senior and youth national teams dating back to 2008. Though he's not known for his rebounding in the NBA, he competed on the boards in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers with 7.3 per game to go along with his 16.8 points per game.

Arguably Olynyk's best stretch of international play came during the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers, where he averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in three outings with Canada, which went 3-0 in those games and went on to win Group F with a 10-2 record. Unfortunately for Olynyk, a knee injury suffered during an exhibition match in August 2020 forced him to sit out the 2020 FIBA World Cup.

“Playing with Kelly is fun,” Powell said in an interview with Sportsnet. “He's so skilled and so smart. And I feel like we've been playing together long enough that we kind of can play off each other very well without having to talk it out necessarily. But yeah, he has so many tools in his bag that for a guy like me, it's fun to just watch the defenses have to react to him and find my spots.”

Now, a fully healthy Olynyk is set to take the court against another former Gonzaga standout Joel Ayayi, when Canada takes on fifth-ranked France to open Group H play on Friday in Indonesia. The road gets slightly easier against No. 43 Lebanon on Sunday before closing out group play against No. 29 Latvia on Aug. 29.

Should the Canadians advance, they'll most likely see Spain, the reigning FIBA World Cup champions, in the knockout stage. The No. 1 ranked team in this year's tournament features eight players with NBA experience, including athletic big Usman Garuba, national team stalwart Rudy Fernandez and the Hernangomez brothers.

Opening up the World Cup against the silver medalist from the Tokyo Games before a potential matchup with the top-ranked team in the world won't be an easy obstacle for Olynyk and Canada to overcome. Still, given the NBA talent and international experience on the roster from top to bottom, it's certainly one of Canada's most talented teams in recent memory — with Olynyk being the true X-factor in the frontcourt.

“Everything accumulates and builds towards the World Cup for us in Canada, and we are definitely looking forward to it,” Olynyk told Sportsnet in February. “It’s a special feeling and something that you have to not take for granted, because you never know when it's gonna be the last time.”

Though Nembhard and former Zag Kevin Pangos won't be playing this year, Olynyk isn't the only Gonzaga connection to Team Canada — forward Melvin Ejim is the older brother of Gonzaga women's basketball standout Yvonne Ejiim, while former men's basketball walk-on Connor Griffin is the team's video coordinator.