Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ben DuBose

Dillon Brooks helps lead Canada to epic World Cup blowout of France

On paper, Friday’s 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup opener between Canada and France was thought to be a relatively even matchup. Each team features a handful of current NBA players, with the Canadians rostering the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, Luguentz Dort, Kelly Olynyk, and RJ Barrett. French standouts include Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, and Nicolas Batum.

But on the court, it turned out to largely be a mismatch, with Canada winning in a shocking blowout, 95-65 (box score).

Buy Rockets Tickets

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 (50.0%). Most impressively, Canada was +33 as a team in those minutes, ranking No. 2 among all players.

“We started off slow, 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 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.

Dillon Brooks, Canada vs. France

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.