After abysmal Paris Olympics, a major upheaval for Canadian women’s basketball program is next

There will be roster changes, and there have to be discussions about coaching. The system of picking the team and the preparation are all going to be on the table in the coming months. Many hard conversations.

Coach Victor Lapeña, who took over after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, will certainly face a performance review as part of an in-depth breakdown of the women’s program. Canada has been at four straight Games, but has regressed since Rio in 2016 on the biggest stage.

The upheaval on the roster will include its most experienced member, Natalie Achonwa, who has been on the senior roster more than half her life and has played her last game for Canada.

The 31-year-old from Guelph made her national team debut as a 15-year-old and retires having played 18 games for Canada at the Olympics, more than any other woman.

“I hope that I left it better than I found it, and that everyone back home knows that every time I put it on I did it with the utmost amount of pride and passion, and can’t wait to see who’s next going to be wearing it after me,” Achonwa told reporters in Lille after the game.

She’s likely not the only veteran set to retire entering a transitional period for the program. Those who may not want to stick around until Los Angeles 2028 also include: Kayla Alexander, 33 and a two-time Olympian; 28-year-old Kia Nurse, a three-time Olympian; Nirra Fields, 30 and also a three-time Olympian; 28-year-old Shay Colley.  It might be time for the program to move on.

It was more than symbolic that Canada played much of the end of the Nigeria game with Achonwa on the court alongside four of the team’s new wave. Syla Swords (at 18 the youngest Canadian basketball player at an Olympics), 19-year-old Cass Prosper, 23-year-old Laeticia Amihere and 22-year-olds Aaliyah Edwards and Yvonne Ejim represent the core for the coming four years.

That Canada bowed out of the Paris Games so meekly was a surprise on one hand, but it continued a concerning trend of disappointing performances. After the high of a fourth-place finish at the 2022 FIBA World Cup, Canada’s second-best showing on the global stage, the women barely sneaked into the Paris Games. They went 1-2 at the qualifying tournament, only earning a berth after Spain pulled off a miraculous 22-point comeback to knock out Hungary.

And the Olympics were brutal.

Canada lost all of its games — to Nigeria, Australia and France —  and was not competitive at times.

“You look forward to this for four years … it’s emotional,” said veteran forward Bridget Carleton. “It’s the peak of athletics, the peak of representing your country at the highest level, and you want to do the best you can. Disappointed in how it ended.”

Understandably, because Canada struggled in every facet of the game.

“You have to play your best,” Colley said. “You’re at the Olympics. Every country is going to come with a lot of energy, a lot of grit, a lot of physicality, so you can’t be soft. You gotta really hone in on the defensive end and play Canada basketball.”

The women were 11th among 12 teams in scoring, averaging only 63 points per game. And in  the greatest indictment of their play, they committed 67 turnovers and scored just 63 baskets in three  games.

“I need some time to watch the games and reflect on the complete tournament, but I don’t want to make excuses for us,” Achonwa said. “If you want to compete with the best in the world, you’ve got to show up every possession, every play and the teams we played just did it better than us.”

Breaking that down will fall to Canada Basketball CEO Michael Bartlett and  de facto general manager Denise Dignard. There will unquestionably be necessary change. But for the players who are or may be leaving, good memories will eventually prevail.

“I’ve said since I was 16 years old that these are some of the best women, best people I have ever had the pleasure of being around, being a part of,” Achonwa said.

“And it’s not the way that I would like to go out on the court, but I know that I’ve said this over and over: It’s never about the outcome, it’s about the journey.

“It’s about that these are the people that you invite to your weddings, that you invite to your baby showers, that my son will know for the rest of his life, and it’s bigger than basketball.”