Canada Basketball has named Gord Herbert head coach of its senior men’s basketball team, the organization announced Thursday. He will officially take over the role next summer.
Herbert led Germany to a gold medal in the World Cup in 2023, followed by a fourth-place performance at the Paris Olympics in 2024. From Penticton, B.C., Herbert is the head coach of Bayern Munich. Before his time with the German program, Herbert was a fixture with Canada Basketball, guiding the senior team as head coach in several qualifying windows.
Herbert also played for Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.
“I’m incredibly honoured and excited for the opportunity to coach my home country,” Herbert said in a statement. “Canada Basketball has made tremendous progress in recent years, and the depth of talent in the program is as good as anywhere in the world. I look forward to building on the strong culture that’s been established and working with our athletes to continue pushing Canada to new heights.”
“It’s great to welcome Gordie back to our program,” Canadian general manager Rowan Barrett said. “He knows what it means to represent Canada and brings the experience, leadership, and vision to guide this group through the next chapter of our journey.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and Andrew Nembhard played for Canada in France. Canada is poised to add the likes of Zach Edey, Shaedon Sharpe and Bennedict Mathurin in the coming years. The next World Cup is in Qatar in 2027, with the Olympics following the next summer in Los Angeles.
Herbert takes over from Brooklyn Nets coach Jordi Fernández, who coached the team at the World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024. Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada won a bronze medal in 2023, qualifying for the men’s Olympic tournament for the first time in 2000. However, Canada lost to France in the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament following a perfect run through the round-robin.
Fernández, who took over the Canada job from Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse in 2023, and the program parted ways earlier this year.
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