Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t sound like he’s the least bit intimidated of playing a possible playoff game against the United States at the Paris Olympics.
In an interview with Complex Sports, the Oklahoma City Thunder standout was asked if he’s worried about facing what is expected to be a star-studded American team this summer.
“No, I don’t worry at all,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “At the end of the day, they’re basketball players. Now, they may be some of the best in the world but our team has some of the best in the world as well and we don’t fear any of them.
“We play them all year. They’re the same basketball players. They sweat and bleed just like us and the ball’s gonna tip and at the end of the night … you’re gonna find out who’s a better team.”
Canada beat the U.S. in the bronze-medal game at last year’s World Cup, but the Americans are expected to have a far better roster at the Summer Games.
The two squads won’t be able to square off until at least the quarterfinals as Canada and the U.S. were drawn into different groups on Tuesday.
The Americans have won the past four Olympic golds, while Canada will be playing in the Summer Games for the first time since 2000.
In the Complex interview, Gilgeous-Alexander also was asked about whether he thinks he can be the best Canadian to ever play in the NBA — currently widely regarded as Steve Nash.
“To answer your question, yes, but I always felt like this is what I’ve been taught,” he said. “Like I can achieve anything I put my mind to and anything I work for. I’ve made it to the NBA and made it this far in achieving this amount of things. And if you asked everyone in my life and everyone that I’ve been around 10 years ago if I could achieve it, they’d say I was crazy. So I try not to put a cap on what I can do and a limit on what I can do and I try to reach for the stars.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the front-runners for this year’s NBA MVP award.
The Thunder are tied for first with the Denver Nuggets in the West and Gilgeous-Alexander is second in NBA scoring, with his average of 30.9 points trailing only Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks (34.4).
