Greece vs Canada Preview, Prediction and Odds 2024 Paris Olympics Basketball | July 27, 2024 

Basketball fans are in for a treat, as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Canada clash in Group A of the Paris 2024 Olympics opener on Saturday.

Many have labelled Group A as the 'Group of Death', featuring Spain, Australia, Canada and Greece. However, Canada will be eager to lay down a marker at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille.

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Greece vs. Canada: Preview, prediction and odds

Moneyline: Greece (+260) vs. Canada (-300)

Spread: Greece (+6.5) Canada (-6.5)

Editor’s Note: The odds could change closer to the game. The odds listed are as per available information at the time of writing.

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Greece vs. Canada: Game preview

Canada come into the game as one of the favorites. Their manager Jordi Fernández will hope that a win would be the catalyst for a return to Olympic medal glory for the first time since the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Their best results since then have been fourth place at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 and at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Canada’s last Olympic outing came in 2000, where the Steve Nash-led team bowed out to eventual silver medalists France.

Twenty-four years on, they've finally come of age. They could go far in the quadrennial games due to their combination of young, talented players and seasoned veterans like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray and Dillon Brooks.

Greece are not to be written off, though. Vassilis Spanoulis’ men had to settle for the qualifying tournament places in a bid to secure their entry to Paris. The Greece roster may not be packed withe recognisable players, but there are many who play top-level basketball across the world.

Players like Nick Calathes, Thomas Walkup, Kostas Papanikolaou, Georgios Papagiannis are instantly recognisable to fans of the Euroleague. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpos, the explosive and skilful superstar is a sporting icon in Greece.

The Milwaukee Bucks superstar has seen his nation go from a basketball crazy nation to a ‘Greek Freak’ frenzy nation. He will be keen to continue his impressive form for his national team.

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Greece vs. Canada: Head-to-Head

The two teams last met in 2021, when the North American nation won 97-91 in a FIBA Olympic qualifier. It remains their only matchup to date.

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Greece vs. Canada: Game prediction

Given the way it qualified for the Olympics, their performances in past tournaments and being ranked the lowest in the ‘Group of Death’, expectations aren’t high for Greece.

However, that isn’t to say that Giannis & Co don't have the ability to cause an upset. But Canada will be expected to beat them with ease, coming off comfortable 103-93, 85-73, 88-46 and 96-51 wins.