Kelly Olynyk's long road with Canadian basketball pays off with medal at Basketball World Cup

It's been a long haul for Kelly Olynyk and Canada's senior men's basketball team.

This summer, the Kamloops, B.C., native and his Canadian teammates enjoyed stops in Iceland, Germany, Spain, Abu Dhabi, Indonesia and the Philippines, where they won bronze at the FIBA Men's Basketball World Cup and earned a berth in the 2024 Olympic Games.

"It was a lot of miles and [was taxing] on your body, but in the end, it's worth it," Olynyk told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops from an airport as he was set to catch a flight to Japan en route to the U.S. to attend a friend's wedding.

Canada captured bronze after a 127–118 overtime win over the U.S. in the bronze-medal game on Sunday. It was a particularly sweet victory for team captain Olynyk, whose commitment to the national team has never wavered despite a number of disappointing losses over the years.  

"Just to get back on the world stage, not only for ourselves but as an inspiration for all the future generations ... it means a lot," Olynyk said.

"Hopefully, it has a bigger impact than we can even see at the moment."

Watching the game back in Kamloops were Olynyk's father, Ken, a longtime basketball coach, and mother, Arlene. The bronze-medal game in Manila tipped off well after 1 a.m. PT, and they were up in the wee hours of the morning to watch it live. 

"It was ... very stressful," said Ken. "Arlene tends to start cleaning the house when the game gets really stressful, and I start yelling, and she tells me, 'Don't yell at the TV.'"

Olynyk finished the game with 11 points and nearly won it for Canada on the final play of regulation with a 30-footer that hit the back iron as time expired.

Ken says he replayed the shot over and over in his mind as any coach would. 

"If that shot was an