Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez entered the Olympics facing lofty expectations. After leading Canada to a Bronze medal at last summer's FIBA World Cup, he had an opportunity to win the country its first Olympic medal since 1936. With a roster featuring a record 10 NBA players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray, Canada entered the tournament as the top threat to the United States.
Despite this, Fernandez's squad fell short of the medal round during Tuesday's quarterfinals, suffering an 82-73, wire-to-wire loss to France. Gilgeous-Alexander did his best to carry the load, posting 27 points, five rebounds and four assists. However, as was the case throughout the tournament, Murray struggled in the loss, scoring seven points on 3-of-13 shooting. Canada shot 25-of-66 from the field (38 percent) and 5-of-21 from three (24 percent) as a team.
Following the defeat, Fernandez took the blame for his team's subpar performance.
“I will always support my players. Personally, I put this one on me because I should have helped them better,” the coach told EuroHoops' Aris Barkas. “Better with two ball handlers. Better with getting better shots. Better with playing with better pace. And I couldn’t find a way. It starts with me, then we’ll come back strong.”
France used a plus-15 advantage at the free-throw line to fuel its victory, attempting 42 compared to 25 for Canada. Fernandez picked up a technical foul in the game's final minute while protesting a call. He didn't hold back his feelings on the officiating postgame.
“You play sometimes games like this with a home crowd, with questionable, fair officiating,” he said. “You know, I understand, but that’s still frustrating because a lot of their [referees] explanations don’t make so much sense. But it is what it is. We knew that coming here we’d have to fight against five players. And probably when you see crowds, that’s when you judge the game, that’s usually what happens.”
While falling short of the medal round is a massive disappointment for the most talented team in the nation's history, the new Nets coach feels Canada's youth will give them a good shot at the next Olympics.
“I don’t think it’s got to be dramatic,” he said. “I think at the end of the day, these guys have worked, they’re committed to representing the country, and they work really hard for their country.”
“I think that everybody should appreciate that… Obviously, you want a better outcome, you want a better result. It didn’t happen, it’s part of sports. We have very good players, we have players that will be in the next Olympics, and that’s how we have to look at it.”
Jordi Fernandez will now turn the page to his first NBA head-coaching job. Despite coaching Canada, he communicated frequently with Brooklyn's players and assistant coaches throughout the summer.
Unlike the Olympics, Fernandez won't face high expectations during his first season with the Nets. After trading Mikal Bridges to the crosstown rival New York Knicks and entering a full rebuild, Brooklyn has the NBA's lowest win/loss projection at 19.5 games, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
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