TORONTO (Canada) - "Oh Canada" indeed!
The North American powerhouse, aiming to take full advantage of its incredible pool of talent and experience, have announced that Gordie Herbert is to coach the team.
Herbert, who engineered Germany's championship run at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in Manila for the country's first title at the event, will now try to have the same success with Canada, a national team he once played for.
A native of Penticton, British Columbia, Herbert will officially assume the role in the summer of 2026.
Herbert's greatest accomplishment as a coach was guiding Germany to a successful qualification for the last World Cup and then on an unbeaten run at the 32-team event. Along the way, the Germans defeated excellent Australia, Slovenia, USA and Serbia teams.
That qualified Germany for the Olympics for the first time since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. At the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024, the Germans reached the Semi-Finals but fell to France and then lost to Serbia in the Bronze Medal Game.
He also led Germany to third place at FIBA EuroBasket 2022 in arguably the toughest field the tournament has ever had.
Herbert has coached Canada before during the international windows. This season, he has been at the helm of FC Bayern. Much of his winning reputation has been established as a coach in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga over the years.
His championship pedigree, command of the FIBA game, and understanding of what it takes to compete for medals on the world stage make him the ideal leader for this next chapter of Canada Basketball.
"I'm incredibly honoured and excited for the opportunity to coach my home country,” said Herbert. “Canada Basketball has made tremendous progress in recent years, and the depth of talent in the program is as good as anywhere in the world. I look forward to building on the strong culture that’s been established and working with our athletes to continue pushing Canada to new heights."
Herbert takes over from Jordi Fernandez, the Spaniard who led the team to Third-Place at the World Cup, and to Olympic qualification for the first time since 2000. Canada fell to France in the Quarter-Finals at the Olympics. Fernandez is the coach of the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA.
Canada are excited to have Herbert in charge.
"We are proud to announce Gordie as the next head coach of our Senior Men’s National Team," said Rowan Barrett, General Manager and Executive Vice-President, Senior Men’s Program.
"His championship pedigree, command of the FIBA game, and understanding of what it takes to compete for medals on the world stage make him the ideal leader for this next chapter of Canada Basketball."
Herbert’s connection to the Canadian national team is deep. In addition to coaching the team in windows, he was an assistant coach at the 2021 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria, B.C.
As a player, he represented Canada at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and at the 1986 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
FIBA