It was a win 24 years in the making.
With the Canada senior men's basketball team on the Olympic stage for the first time since 2000, its stars did what they do best to propel the team to an 86-79 win over Greece to open group play at the 2024 Paris Games.
RJ Barrett scored a team-high 23 points, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came up clutch with 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
While Canada earned a wire-to-wire win, it wasn't without any resistance. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 34 points and played a large role in three of Canada's starters fouling out. Greece cut the deficit to two points late, but Gilgeous-Alexander showed up when his team needed him most, again stretching the lead to two possessions with a driving finish.
Canada has high hopes during these Olympics but faces a tough road in the "Group of Death" alongside Greece, Australia and Spain. Saturday's win was a big step in the right direction for the Canadians.
If you missed the action, The Sporting News tracked live updates from Saturday's Group A matchup between Canada and Greece in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Canada vs. Greece basketball score
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | |
| Canada | 26 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 86 |
| Greece | 22 | 16 | 22 | 19 | 79 |
Canada vs. Greece live updates, results, highlights from 2024 Olympic men's basketball exhibition game
(All times Eastern.)
Final: Canada 86, Greece 79
5:08 p.m.: RJ Barrett … BOOM!
A turnover leads to a breakaway dunk from Barrett, who puts an exclamation point on a 23-point performance. Canada opens the Olympic basketball tournament with a resilient win over Greece, which was led by 34 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It's a great start for Canada's hopes to advance to the next stage of competition.
5:06 p.m.: Giannis Antetokounmpo unintentionally fouls Jamal Murray, who coolly steps to the line to sink both free throws and extend Canada's lead to five points with 15 seconds left.
Canada 84, Greece 79
5:04 p.m.: After drawing a foul, Giannis Antetokounmpo splits a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three with 32.4 seconds left.
Canada 82, Greece 79
5:02 p.m.: A dunk from Giannis Antetokounmpo cuts the deficit to two points but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander responds with a clutch layup.
Timeout on the floor with 42.8 seconds remaining.
Canada 82, Greece 78
5 p.m.: Make it an 8-0 Greece run to cut the deficit to four points with 1:15 to play.
Timeout Canada.
Canada 80, Greece 76
4:58 p.m.: Luguentz Dort has fouled out of the game.
1:42 remains and Canada is down three starters in a two-possession game. Greece is in the bonus.
Canada 80, Greece 74
4:55 p.m.: Dwight Powell and Dillon Brooks have both fouled out and Luguentz Dort is now sitting on four fouls.
It's not over quite yet. Greece is in the penalty and Canada is down two starters but holds a 10-point lead with three minutes remaining in the fourth.
Canada 80, Greece 70
4:49 p.m.: Luguentz Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit massive 3s to give Canada some breathing room down the stretch.
With under five minutes remaining, Canada leads by 10 points, again thwarting Greece's efforts to get back in there. This Canada team has responded to every challenge it has faced today.
Canada 78, Greece 68
4:44 p.m.: It's getting interesting in Lille.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is whistled for an offensive foul and Greece misses on an opportunity to cut the deficit to one point. Canada leads by four points with 6:50 remaining.
Greece is in the penalty for the remainder of the game. Every foul will mean free throws from here on out.
Canada 72, Greece 68
4:42 p.m.: "Greece has some juice here in the fourth."
A 3 from Thomas Walkup cuts the deficit to six points and Greece gets another stop. Under eight minutes remain in regulation.
Canada 72, Greece 66
End of third quarter: Canada 68, Greece 60
4:37 p.m.: Three quarters are in the books and Canada leads by eight.
Jamal Murray came in to deliver some impactful minutes as the quarter wound down and Canada was again able to hold off an attempted rally from Greece.
With one quarter to play, foul trouble looms large for Canada, specifically Dillon Brooks and Luguentz Dort, who each have four apiece. Canada will look to hold Greece off for 10 more minutes.
4:31 p.m.: Just as Greece looked to inch closer, a putback from RJ Barrett puts Canada ahead by eight points with under a minute remaining in the third. Timeout Greece.
Barrett is up to 19 points to lead Canada, which has enjoyed a balanced attack.
Canada 66, Greece 58
4:24 p.m.: More foul trouble. Dillon Brooks is now on the bench with four fouls and Greece won't go away.
A transition dunk from Giannis Antetokunmpo gives him 25 points in the game and cuts further into the deficit. Greece trails by seven with 3:20 remaining in the third.
Canada 60, Greece 53
4:18 p.m.: Foul trouble.
Luguentz Dort is on the bench with his fourth foul and Dwight Powell has picked up his fourth foul of the game. After Powell picked up his third, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander picks up a foul on a cutting Antetokokunmpo, who finishes a lob through contact on an inbounds play.
Antetokounmpo has 23 points in the game and Canada leads by eight with 5:39 remaining in the third.
Canada 58, Greece 50
4:13 p.m.: It's been a relentless attack from Canada, which has a response for every run Greece goes with.
After a triple from Dillon Brooks, Canada's lead is up to 16 points early in the second half.
Canada 56, Greece 40
Halftime: Canada 48, Greece 38
3:55 p.m.: It's halftime in France and Canada has a 10-point lead over Greece.
To no surprise, the star power has been on full display. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has set the tone for Canada with 12 points and four assists but RJ Barrett leads the team with 13 points while Dillon Brooks has scored 11 — the trio has scored 75 percent of Canada's points.
For Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored a game-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Kostas Papanikolau has joined Antetokounmpo in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
3:52 p.m.: Luguentz Dort picks up his third foul of the game with over a minute remaining in the first half.
As a reminder, players are disqualified with five fouls in FIBA play. Dort's foul situation will be one to monitor as the game goes on.
Canada 45, Greece 36
3:45 p.m.: And another solid response from Greece.
A quick 5-0 run with buckets from Georgios Papagiannis and Kostas Papanikolau has Greece back within two possessions. Papanikolau has 11 points in the first half and Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored 12 — the two have scored 23 of Greece's 34 points.
Timeout with 3:04 left.
Canada 39, Greece 34
3:40 p.m.: The lead is back into double figures for Canada.
Lu Dort steps up to the line to sink two free throws to give Canada a 10-point lead with 5:05 remaining in the first half. A solid response for Canada after Greece made things close. Greece has missed its last six field goal attempts.
Canada 37, Greece 27
3:33 p.m.: Second unit Jamal Murray is scary.
In a reserve role, Murray's scored four points, including his signature stepback jumper from the sideline. Canada leads by five early in the second quarter.
Canada 30, Greece 25
End of first quarter: Canada 26, Greece 22
3:26 p.m.: After trailing big early, Greece has responded to cut the deficit to four points at the end of the first quarter.
Kostas Papanikolau leads the way for Greece with a game-high nine points. Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored eight points in the game, matching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's team-high total for Canada.
After SGA, RJ Barrett has scored seven points for Canada to help pace the offense.
3:20 p.m.: Greece has responded.
It's been a pretty high-scoring quarter on both ends but Greece is getting going from beyond the arc to stay within striking distance. An impressive alley-oop finish from Giannis Antetokounmpo cuts the deficit to seven points with two minutes left in the first.
Canada 24, Greece 17
3:13 p.m.: Have a game, Shai!
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is up to eight points in the game after draining a nasty side-step triple to give Canada a 12-point lead past the midway point in the first. Timeout Greece.
Canada 19, Greece 7
3:09 p.m.: There aren't many players that are as smooth as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
SGA gets a kind roll on a mid-range jumper and draws a foul in the process. Before stepping to the line, he strikes a pose on the floor.
Gilgeous-Alexander has five points early on and Canada leads by six with 6:15 left in the first.
Canada 11, Greece 5
3:04 p.m.: Canada strikes first with back-to-back buckets from RJ Barrett and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to take an early four-point lead over Greece.
Game on.
Canada 4, Greece 0
Pregame
2:55 p.m.: It's almost go time in Lille, France.
Canada is rolling with a starting lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and Dwight Powell.
Starting for Greece: Nick Calathes, Thomas Walkup, Kostas Papanikolau, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Georgios Papigiannis.
1. p.m.: As if the anticipation wasn't already through the roof. Canada Basketball has released a hype video for the men's and women's teams set to compete in Paris.
"24 years in the making."
Where will you be? // Où serez-vous? 🍁#Paris2024 #CanadaBasketball pic.twitter.com/OfJQvzAry6
— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) July 27, 2024
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Canada basketball Olympic schedule 2024
Team Canada will play as part of Group A, which includes Australia, Greece and Spain.
Below is their schedule, which begins Saturday, July 27.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| July 27 | Canada vs. Greece | 3 p.m. | CBC, Fubo |
| July 30 | Canada vs. Australia | 7:30 a.m. | CBC, Fubo |
| Aug. 2 | Canada vs. Spain | 10:15 a.m. | CBC, Fubo |
How to watch Olympic basketball games
- TV channels: CBC | TSN | Sportsnet
- Live streams: CBC.ca | CBC Gem | CBC Paris app | Fubo
CBC, TSN and Sportsnet will offer daily coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Select Canadian basketball games will also be available to stream on CBC.ca, CBC Gem, the CBC Paris app and Fubo, which is currently offering a free trial.
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When do the Olympics start?
The opening ceremony at the 2024 Olympics is July 26. The men's basketball tournament tips off the next day on July 27 and ends with the medal games on Aug. 10.
Team USA is one of 12 teams to qualify for the Paris Olympics. It will play in Group C with Serbia, South Sudan, and Puerto Rico.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV Channel |
| July 27 | Canada 86, Greece 79 | 3 p.m. | CBC |
| July 30 | Canada vs. Australia | 7:30 a.m. | CBC |
| Aug. 2 | Canada vs. Spain | 10:15 a.m. | CBC |
| Aug. 6 | Men's basketball quarterfinals | TBD | |
| Aug. 8 | Men's basketball semifinals | TBD | |
| Aug. 10 | Men's basketball gold-medal game | TBD | |
| Aug. 10 | Men's basketball bronze-medal game | TBD |
