Jamal Murray’s absence from team Canada means Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now by far the best player on Canada’s roster. This fact becomes even more evident when you take a look at the futures for team Canada at the 2023 Fiba World Cup.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the betting favourite to lead Canada in every statistical category except rebounding on Bet99. Will he live up to it and have a historic performance?
Without Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray in the lineup, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is unquestionably the best scorer on the Canadian roster. For the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, he averaged 31.4 points per game while shooting 51% from the field. And he has averaged at least 23.7 points since the 2020-2021 season. Gilgeous-Alexander has the best odds to score the most points for team Canada at the Fiba World Cup. He has -330 odds on Bet99.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the obvious choice, but one of the biggest unknowns is how much of the scoring load team Canada is willing to put on his shoulders. It is hard to believe that team Canada will not try to manage Gilgeous-Alexander’s workload when the NBA season starts in about two months. RJ Barrett has the second best odds to score the most points at +300. Barrett’s ability to put up points is one of his best attributes, he averaged 19.6 points and 20 points in the last two seasons. Barrett can score the basketball from a lot of spots on the court and still has room for improvement.
He is not asked to do as much as Gilgeous-Alexander is in the NBA, so a tournament like this is the perfect opportunity for Barrett to play in high level games as the number one or two scoring option. The sportsbooks are not giving anyone else on the roster a realistic shot. Utah Jazz forward Kelly Olynyk has the next closest odds at +1600. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker is behind him at +2500.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the betting favourite to leave the tournament with the most assists on team Canada, and it is not close. At -290, he has the best odds by a mile. Olynyk has the second best odds at +700. RJ Barrett is at +1000, and Alexander-Walker is at +1100. Other than injury, there is almost no reason to pick anyone other than Gilgeous-Alexander. He should have the ball in his hands a lot, he is not a bad passer, and attracts a lot of attention from opposing defenses.
Bettors willing to take a risk for a potential huge payoff should consider Olynyk and Barrett. If Gilgeous-Alexander’s focus is on scoring the basketball at this tournament, the title for most assists could fall into one of their laps by default. So they might not need to average many assists to be ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander. Olynyk showed off some of his passing ability during the preparation games. Barrett should have the ball in his hands enough to be worthy of consideration.
This is the only team Canada future at the 2023 Fiba World Cup that does not have Gilgeous-Alexander as the favourite. But he still has the third best odds at +550. Olynyk and Dallas Mavericks center Dwight Powell are the betting favourites. They have +400 odds. Barrett and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort are tied for the fourth best odds at +750.
Powell or Olynyk should take this one. Gilgeous-Alexander can do everything, but someone else on team Canada has to contribute, and will. Rebounding is one of the easiest ways for Powell and Olynyk to help Canada win games. They probably will not be asked to do a lot on offense, so one of them should impact the game with their rebounding. Dort’s hustle and energy make him a solid pick also. But do not count out Gilgeous-Alexander. It is very possible we see a historic performance from him at this year’s world cup. These futures are not available on all basketball betting sites.
