TORONTO (Canada) - Basketball in Canada has been on a monumental rise, with an unprecedented number of Canadian talent across the top leagues around the world, including the NBA.

And the world took notice again last month. 

The 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists jumped off the stat sheet to those that looked at the boxscore of Oklahoma City Thunder's win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 14.  They belonged to Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

In one of his finest games as a professional, a 117-104 triumph at Minnesota, Gilgeous-Alexander, 21, did a number on the Timberwolves.

The second-year NBA guard would have raised plenty of eyebrows north of the border because Gilgeous-Alexander had already announced, along with Denver's high-scoring guard Jamal Murray, that he will play at this summer's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT)  in Victoria, Canada.

"That is something that I have been wanting to do for so many years now and finally I have the opportunity to do so this summer. It's very important for me to represent my country, and after Jamal Murray announced his commitment, I wanted to do the same too," he said.

"It's important for Canada basketball to show that we all want to help the national team and try our best to qualify for the Olympics, and my message is clear: I want to do my best to help the national team win the OQT at home, and punch a ticket to go to Tokyo 2020. That is a very important summer for Canada Basketball, and we all want to be here to help the country shine at the highest level."

Canada, with the addition of Gilgeous-Alexander, Murray and likely a few other stars in the NBA, will be a force to be reckoned with. They'll be a genuine contender to reach the Tokyo Games. The last time Canada made it to an Olympics was in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, when Steve Nash was point guard.

"It's time to end that drought," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We have to bring Canada back to the Olympic stage this summer."

Canada very nearly reached the last Olympics but heartbreak at the end of their FIBA AmeriCup Semi-Final against Venezuela prevented them from traveling to Rio. They had a second chance to reach Brazil but fell in the OQT Final in the Philippines to France.

In Victoria, giant hurdles must be cleared for Canada to win. They will face Greece and China in Group A while in Group B will be Uruguay, the Czech Republic and Turkey. The top two teams in each group will advance to the Semi-Finals. Only the winner of the OQT will clinch a spot in the Olympics.

"Greece is a very experienced team, and they have a lot of talented players, and not only Giannis Antetokounmpo," the 1.96m (6ft 5in) Gilgeous-Alexander said. "He's one of the best players in the world, but we'll have to not focus only on him, but also on the other players. Greece has a great history of basketball, and they are going to push hard to go to Tokyo, too.

"China is going to want the same, and they can play at a great level. Their basketball is growing fast, and they have a good team. It's going to be a very intense first round."

Should Canada advance, they will have to win two more times to book a spot in the Olympics.

Gilgeous-Alexander represented Canada at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2016

"Nobody said it would be easy," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "All the teams that are going to Victoria have the same goal and the same chance to make it to Japan. We have to take it one game at a time, and win this tournament because that is very important for Canadian basketball."

"We are going to be 100 percent ready, and we are going to have all the ingredients to make this work and be successful. It would be fantastic to seal our spot for the Olympics with our fans, and get energized for the main tournament.

"Playing in front of your friends, family and countrymen is unique, something that doesn't happen every year, so we'll want to make the most of the opportunity. Playing at home is very good but winning at home would be even better."

There are many NBA stars that have not experienced an Olympic games. Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't want this chance to slip by. He wants to be in Japan.

"It's a high level of competition, every top player is going to be there so everyone would like to compete in Tokyo 2020," he said. "Outside of the tournament, the whole Olympic experience seems fascinating, too, the opening ceremony, all of this sounds fantastic."

FIBA