Jordi Fernandez is Spanish. He's coaching Canada against Spain at the Paris Olympics on Friday

Updated Aug. 1, 2024 9:19 a.m. ET

Associated Press

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — Jordi Fernandez was born in Spain, raised in Spain, learned basketball in Spain, even started his coaching career as a teenager in Spain.

And on Friday, he could eliminate Spain from the men’s tournament at the Paris Olympics.

For a few weeks this summer, Fernandez — the coach of the Brooklyn Nets — is playing the role of a proud Canadian, and understandably so. He coached Canada to a bronze medal at last year’s World Cup and already has the team locked into a quarterfinal spot at the Paris Games, regardless of what happens in its group-play finale against Spain. If all that wasn't enough, Spain is coached by Sergio Scariolo, one of Fernandez's mentors and idols.

“It’s just another game for me,” Fernandez said of facing his homeland. “I bleed Canadian and I’m all for Canada. Those are the interests of my people right now. Obviously, I have a lot of respect for Spain. I know the coach well. I know the program. They’re awesome. Great people. But at the end of the day, they’re the rival and, you know, we’re playing here at the Olympics to make all the Canadians proud of the way we play.”

It's not necessarily a must-win for Spain, but a loss — depending on other results — could keep it from advancing to Paris for next week's knockout stage. Canada will find out on Saturday night which team it'll meet in Tuesday's quarterfinals.

It's also a similar situation to last summer's World Cup, where Canada beat Spain 88-85 in the second-round finale and eliminated the 2019 champions from the quarterfinals.

“Congratulations to Canada, to their players, to coach Jordi, to the federation,” Scariolo said after that game. “I know how much of a commitment and dedication they put into this effort to rebuild their program. Now they have a high-level team, and they can enjoy the fruits of those seeds.”

This is not unusual, with bloodlines leading to blurred lines in international play. It’s not new. either. Del Harris, born and raised in Indiana, coached China in the 2004 Olympics, consulted for Canada in the 1994 World Games and coached Puerto Rico’s national team to a Centrobasket gold medal 50 years ago. And he's one of many coaches to be born in one country and wind up coaching for another — or many others.

Consider the all-over-the-world lineup of coaches in this Olympic basketball tournament. Australia coach Brian Goorjian was born in California and played at Pepperdine. Germany coach Gordie Herbert was born in Canada and holds Finnish citizenship. Japan coach Tom Hovasse and South Sudan coach Royal Ivey are both Americans. Brazil coach Aleksandar Petrovic is a Croatian basketball legend. And Scariolo, one of the world’s most accomplished international coaches for Spain, where he is beloved, is an Italian — with ties to Canada, too, since he was part of the coaching staff for the Toronto Raptors when they won the 2019 NBA title.

There will be Spanish flags and Canadian flags in the stands on Friday, and there will even be some Spaniards in the stands rooting for Canada — Fernandez's parents are at the Olympics, along with his wife, his children and some longtime friends from his Spanish hometown.

“Right now, the only thing we see is a rival in front of us and that’s what I see myself," Fernandez said. "Like I said, with a lot of respect, we’re going to do our best.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games