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Edgar Chaput
Canada vs. Greece Prediction: Olympic Men’s Basketball Odds
Canada and Greece have been drawn into Group A, which also features Australia and Spain. Those two foes will square off earlier in the day. The Canadians have known that they would be participating in the Paris Games since last September, but the Greeks earned their spot just a few weeks ago at a FIBA qualifying tournament.
Our Olympic basketball odds have Canada as a significant -7.5 favourite for this opening salvo.
Canada vs. Greece Betting Odds
These countries have not met often on the international stage. The last time was, incidentally, a June 2021 Olympic Games qualifying match for the tournament that took place in Tokyo later that summer. Canada won the day 97-91, but it would not suffice to play in the Olympics. Before then Greece rattled off three straight victories, although those were matches dating back to 2010, 1998, and 1994. Suffice it to say that at the national basketball level, these are not familiar rivals.
The last time Canada’s men’s basketball squad were Olympians was way back in 2000. That year the ensemble finished a disappointing seventh. On the flip side, it was a very different time for Canadian basketball and expectations were not nearly as high as they are today. As far as major tournament success, Canada won bronze at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which is how they qualified for this tournament.
Greece has been to the Olympics a bit more recently, with participations in 2004 and 2008, although the former was at home, thus granting them automatic entrance. On both occasions they placed fifth. In fact, fifth is exactly how the country finished at the two most recent FIBA World Cups (2019 and 2023), so one should not overlook the Greeks.
Canada
Anyone paying attention to previews for the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Games has surely come across a number of podcasts, YouTube videos, and articles showering Canada with praise. It’s quite the turnaround from just a few years ago when not much was expected from the national squad.
A lot has changed since the 2000s. The sport’s growth in the country during the 2010s has resulted in an impressive number of players not only making it to the NBA but becoming forces to be reckoned with at the professional level. Look no further this team’s undisputed star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. His last season in the NBA was so good that he was in the conversation for league MVP. Jamal Murray was a major factor in the Denver Nuggets winning it all two seasons ago, Luguentz Dort is a tremendous defender, RJ Barrett is an all-around solid performer, Dwight Powell gives the side paint presence, and Dillon Brooks is the player one hates to play against but loves to have as a teammate.
There is one obvious name on the Greek team that strikes fear, but other than that Canada is better equipped.
Greece
Speaking of which, that name is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis, popularly known as the Greek Freak, is a tremendous player who combines size with speed and a diverse skill set. He alone can disrupt an entire opponent’s game plan. He’s an NBA champion and former MVP. That’s not to say that the team has nothing to offer other than Giannis.
Granted, the roster is mostly devoid of NBA talent, but people tend to overlook the European leagues which in truth are quite strong. In fact, Giannis was not always the main threat during the country’s successful Olympic qualifying tournament in early July. Konstantinos Mitoglou (nicknamed “Dinos”) was both a good scorer and rebounder. So too was Georgios Papagiannis, who came through in both the semi-final match versus Slovenia and the final against Croatia. Not to be overlooked, Thomas Walkup (American-born) has collected defensive player honours for years now around Europe.
The names are not well known to North American basketball fans, but don’t let their relative obscurity fool you.