On paper, Friday’s 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup opener between Canada and France was thought to be a relatively even matchup.
Each team featured a handful of current NBA players. The Canadians featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, Luguentz Dort, Kelly Olynyk and RJ Barrett. French standouts included Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum.
On the court, it turned out to be a mismatch. Canada won in a shocking blowout, 95-65 (box score).
One leading reason was Brooks, who signed with the Houston Rockets this offseason. In 26 minutes, Canada’s energetic defensive ace had 12 points and 4 rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting (83.3%), including 1-of-2 on 3-pointers (50%). Most impressively, Canada was plus-33 in those minutes, ranking No. 2 among all players.
“We started off slowly, and I tried to create some energy early on,” Brooks told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani. “I told guys to stick with it.”
“We actually look at every single game as if it’s Game 7 in the NBA,” Brooks said to reporters postgame (via Eurohoops.net). “We put the world on notice. This ain’t no joke; we ain’t playing.”
Read on for further quotes and highlights from Brooks’ showing.