Report: Canada Basketball Tabs Canadian To Lead Senior Men's National Team

Canada Basketball has reportedly named Gordie Herbert as the new senior men's national basketball coach following the departure of Jordi Fernandez

Jul 30, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; Germany head coach Gordie Fin Herbert talks to his team during the game against Brazil in men’s basketball group B play during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images | John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Canada Basketball is handing the keys to Gordie Herbert.

The organization is expected to name Herbert the next head coach of the senior men’s national team, according to a report from Sportsnet’s Michael Grange. The decision ends a months-long search to replace Jordi Fernández and reunites Canada with a familiar face.

Herbert’s resumé is one of the most impressive in international basketball. The 66-year-old Canadian coached Germany to a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, a bronze at EuroBasket 2022, and a quarterfinal finish at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He currently leads Bayern Munich in the EuroLeague and previously worked as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors.

He also played for Canada at the 1984 Olympics and helped the national program during World Cup qualifying before Nick Nurse was hired in 2019.

The decision reportedly came down to Herbert and current Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela, per Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.

Herbert will take over a program in the best position it has ever been. Canada is coming off a third-place finish at the 2023 World Cup and a top-five showing at the Paris Olympics. The core of the team including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Luguentz Dort, Jamal Murray, Dillon Brooks, and Andrew Nembhard should all still be in their prime for the next two major tournaments.

The men’s team is expected to hold a training camp in August ahead of the FIBA AmeriCup in Nicaragua. The summer squad will be made up of younger players from the NBA and European leagues. Herbert is expected to attend camp and serve as a systems director to help set the program’s foundation for the next four-year cycle, according to Grange.

This will be the first time a Canadian has coached the senior men’s team since 2019 when Jay Triano and Roy Rana led the program.