| Canada Basketball | |
| Size: | 170px |
| Type: | National Governing Body (NGB) |
| Location: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Region Served: | Canada |
| Language: | English French |
| Leader Title: | CEO |
| Leader Name: | Michael Bartlett |
| Key People: | Rowan Barrett (GM) Steve Nash (senior advisor) |
| Affiliations: | FIBA FIBA Americas |
Canada Basketball is the governing body for basketball in Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIBA and governs Canadian basketball at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, 3x3 basketball, the Canadian Elite Basketball League, and youth organizations. [1]
Founded in 1923, some of the influential Canada Basketball Alumni include Steve Nash, Leo Rautins, Stacey Dales, and Lars Hansen.[2] Canada Basketball launched the Steve Nash Youth Basketball Program in September, 2007. Basketball is the fastest growing sport in Canada, and attracts many young Canadians from all backgrounds.[3]
In May 2012, Canada Basketball named Steve Nash the General Manager of the Senior Men's National Program. Canada Basketball hired Jay Triano to coach its Senior Men's National Team in August 2012, and hired Lisa Thomaidis as the head coach of the Senior Women's Program in March 2013.
The Council Of Excellence is designed to strengthen the game of basketball in Canada as to propel Canadian Basketball back to international prominence. The Council Of Excellence includes, Jay Triano, Steve Nash, Maurizio Gherardini, Glen Grunwald, Don McCrae, Kathy Shields, Ken Shields, Steve Konchalski, and Sylvia Sweeney.[4]
On March 5, 2019, Canada Basketball promoted Executive Vice President / Assistant General Manager Rowan Barrett to General Manager, while Steve Nash would transition to a role of Senior Advisor, effective immediately.[5] Barrett's first move was to hire Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to coach the national men's team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup with the hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[6] [5]
Canada Basketball withdrew its Men's national team from FIBA AmeriCup qualifying games against Cuba on 29 November 2020 and against the US Virgin Islands on 30 November 2020, on the advice of medical experts due to risks posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence on 20 January 2021 the International Basketball Federation announced sanctions against Canada Basketball consisting of a 160,000 Swiss francs fine and docking the Men's national team a point in the standings.[7] [8]
On June 27, 2023, Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernández was hired to replace Nick Nurse as Team Canada's head coach.[9]