Everyone knows the struggle of keeping up with your long-distance friends. Trying to keep up with your long-distance Olympic teammates may even be more of a battle if you play professional women’s basketball.
Such women often play all year round, all over the world. From the WNBA in the United States, to leagues in Europe, Asia and Australia, to the opposite season schedules of the WNBA and NCAA college basketball, women’s basketball has become an all-year sport. But for the Canadian Women’s National team, who are hoping to make a return to both the 2026 World Cup in Germany as well as the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, staying connected is of utmost importance.
The Canadian Program seems especially spread out globally — Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton, Aaliyah Edwards, Laeticia Amihere and now Yvonne Ejim are currently in WNBA training camps across the US. Amihere and Carleton spent their offseason playing in Europe, while Nurse was between Toronto, working as a broadcaster, and Nashville, playing in Athletes Unlimited. Edwards stayed in the US but headed down to Miami to participate in the Unrivaled 3×3 league. Young stars in Syla Swords, Avery Howell, Cass Prosper and Toby Fournier just finished their college seasons. Sami Hill, Kayla Alexander, and Shay Colley are all wrapping up their seasons in Europe. You can see how it may be difficult to get everyone together for a game of pick-up.
But the team’s busy schedules don’t stop them from connecting, as Aaliyah Edwards pointed out at Washington Mystics media day. They all have the same goal — getting onto the podium — whether it be at the World Cup next fall in Germany or at the next Olympic Games in 2028. That desire to prove themselves as a team and to show the World the potential of Canada Basketball as a program keeps them all focused no matter where they are.
“We have a [WhatsApp] chat,” said Edwards, who is gearing up for her second season in the WNBA.
“We all show up and we always check in, we have ‘Would You Rather’ Wednesday,” she added with a laugh.
Most of the team will come together for the Women’s FIBA Americup in June/July 2025, apart from the WNBA players who will be playing in their season. Canada has been drawn into Group A along with the Dominican Republic, Argentina, El Salvador and Brazil. From there, they will head into qualifying tournaments for the 2026 World Cup, hoping to follow up on their 4th place finish at the 2022 World Cup in Australia.
The team had a disappointing showing at the Paris Olympics in 2024, where they went 0-3 and did not make it out of their group. Leaving that tournament, the program is going through a lot of changes, parting ways with their coaching staff from this past cycle. Team captain and veteran Natalie Achonwa also announced her retirement.
This next international cycle will welcome a new generation of talent to the program, most notably young stars like Syla Swords. Swords made multiple all-conference teams at Michigan this past year, after becoming the youngest person in Canadian history to represent the country in Olympic Basketball.
With all of this change going on, the team has managed to stay connected. Edwards notes how “refreshing” it is when she gets to see her teammates on the road during the WNBA season. While Edwards plays with the Mystics, Carleton is with the Minnesota Lynx, Nurse is in Chicago with the Sky, and Amihere will be playing in Golden State with the Valkyries. Yvonne Ejim was drafted by the Indiana Fever and will be vying for a roster spot ahead of opening day.
Even when they are apart, the Canadians are each other’s biggest hype women. When Edwards made it to the Finals of the Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament earlier this year, her Canada teammates were all over social media hyping her up.
As far as keeping that chemistry alive as they prepare for another cycle of international competition, Edwards says it’s “never an issue.” She’s always thrilled to check in with her teammates online and can’t wait to hit the floor for Team Canada again soon.