Canada hopes to show their physicality on defence, though. Dort and Dillon Brooks give Canada as good of an individual defensive tandem as there likely is to be in the tournament. The United States has far more offensive firepower than Canada, but only Mikal Bridges has the defensive reputation that Dort and Brooks have. They form a tandem that could help Canada make life decidedly miserable for some of the world’s elite offensive players — starting with the team’s FIBA World Cup opener against France, which figures to be one of the biggest games in the tournament’s group stage, on Aug. 25. “I’ve kind of watched him become a defensive stopper,” Brooks said of Dort. “Guys don’t want to deal with that physicality all night. And what’s crazy is that for his size, he’s quick moving laterally, so he can stay in front and give guys hell the whole night by staying in front, making them take tough shots, midrange shots. I admire that, and I admire his heart, as well.”