It was a little less than a year ago when veteran Canadian basketball forward Khem Birch questioned if he would ever play basketball again. 

He was waived by the San Antonio Spurs after dealing with a recurring right knee injury that forced him in and out of NBA games for two straight seasons and left to figure out what was next for him.

“When I got waived, I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t healthy at all. So I’m just like ‘Wow, maybe I might not be able to play,” said Birch. “Other teams were trying to get me to play and I just couldn’t play.”

The trials and tribulations Birch had to go through the last two years have been some of the toughest moments of his life. Now, the Montréal native is back on the world stage and will look to be an important piece off the bench for Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“I almost wanted to cry. If you were to tell me I was going to be on the team from last year, even if you told me I was going to play again from last year at a high level, I would’ve just been like ‘Are you serious?’ I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” said Birch.

“Now that I’m here, it’s crazy because I never even imagined myself coming back.”

The 31-year-old had been dealing with knee issues since about November 2021 when he was with the Toronto Raptors. In one of the early games of the 2021-22 season, he could feel his knee buckle — but he pushed through the injury and played the entire season while in constant pain.

In May 2022, he finally got surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee. He was cleared to play a few months later, but Birch could still feel pain in his knee and knew he wasn’t 100 per cent yet.

Birch was a six-foot-eight, 233-pound centre who fought his way onto an NBA roster after stints in Europe as an undrafted player before finding a home in Orlando and eventually Toronto — where he went on to earn a three-year, $20-million contract in 2021.

He tried his hardest to return to full strength with the Raptors in the 2022-23 season, but he wasn’t the same player who beat the odds and carved a role for himself in the NBA.

“I was just playing on it and it wasn’t just healing,” said Birch. “A lot of people thought I was faking it, which to me is crazy because if you saw me and how I was playing compared to before when I was healthy, it’s completely different. Not a lot of people came to support (me) like that.”

The seven-year NBA vet was eventually traded mid-season to the San Antonio Spurs from the Raptors. After playing 20 games that season, Birch decided to look after himself and shut it down. He didn’t play for the rest of the season. The Spurs let him rehab, but soon he realized he still wasn’t getting any better. 

That’s when Birch questioned whether he was nearing the end of his basketball career. 

Later that summer, the Canadian Senior Men’s National Team was gearing up for the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023. Birch remembers getting a call from Rowan Barrett, General Manager / Executive Vice-President, Senior Men's Program, and newly minted head coach Jordi Fernández about playing in the upcoming FIBA World Cup.

“I was just so sad, I was down,” said Birch, remembering how he felt when got the call to play.

Birch desperately wanted to suit up for his country but his body wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t take a spot-up jumper and could barely walk or take the stairs.

When the NBA season rolled around, the Spurs waived Birch after training camp. For the next few months, Birch, who was still not healthy enough to get back on the court, was stuck at home with his knees still bothering him.

“It’s tough because everyone who (I thought) had my back … I think they treated me like sort of damaged goods,” said Birch. 

Over the next few months, Birch’s NBA trainer Henry Woo Jr. spent countless hours with Birch working out, staying in shape and making sure he was in the right mental headspace to get him back on track. He rehabbed and trained in Orlando, strengthening the muscles around his knees, adding yoga to his fitness routine and working on his mobility. 

“Everyone counted him out, no one believed in Khem Birch. No one believed he’d be healthy,” said Woo.

“It was a real low point for him because basketball is one of those things where you need other people to believe in you.”

Birch leaned on his family during the most difficult part of his career. He talked through his issues with his wife, mother and brother — who had been dealing with similar knee issues.

About a year and seven months following his knee surgery, Birch finally felt healthy enough to play high-level basketball again. He hadn’t played real minutes since December 2022, but former Raptor Marc Gasol gave him a chance, signing him in February to a contract with his team in Europe, Bàsquet Girona in the Spanish Liga ACB.

The team in Spain put him on a treatment plan and gave him ample time to rehab his knee as the weekly schedule of games made it easy for Birch to ramp up. Soon, his body would feel the best it had in years.

“When I first came back, I got so excited. I threw my jersey and it was just like a regular season win,” said Birch. 

“There’s going to be a lot of long days because you think you’re back, but you’re not. You just gotta keep pushing, you gotta keep going, because eventually you’re going to get healthy.”

Ahead of training camp this summer for the Senior Men’s National Team, Birch was eager to play for Canada again but a lot had changed since his last appearance with the program. He didn’t know if they were interested in him after no longer playing in the NBA and Birch was also hesitant to jump in at the last minute as the men’s national team was gearing up for its first Olympics in 24 years. 

“I didn't want to be the guy, to want to be like, ‘Yeah, I want to join Team Canada when they make the Olympics,’” said Birch. “Sometimes I wish this year was the world qualifiers just so I can actually contribute.”

In the past, Birch told Woo about his dreams of playing in the Olympics and representing Canada on the big stage, as a young child. It’s why Woo made sure Birch reached out to Barrett and Coach  Fernández to let them know he was in good shape and eager to try out for the team headed to Paris. 

With how loyal Birch had been in the past — playing for Canada any chance he could, including at the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2019 — the national team selected him as one of the 20 players invited to camp.

There weren't any guarantees Birch would make the 12-man Olympic roster, but that was no issue. All he wanted was a shot.

‍“I think (Birch is) experienced. He's done it. He's been there. I know that he's played at big teams in Europe like Olympiacos, played in (Liga) ACB. He's played in the NBA. He has shown consistency. And he looks very good physically. So that's the decision we went with,” said Fernández, after Canada basketball announced their Olympics roster featuring Birch.

Birch broke the news to trainer Woo the night before the Olympic roster was announced. They sat on the phone and talked about how grateful they were and how surreal the journey back has been.

“This was a stepping stone in the right direction, it was a stepping stone in helping him achieve a lifelong dream of playing at the Olympics and representing his country at the highest level,” said Woo.

Birch knows his role on this Canada team will be the same role he’s had his entire basketball career. He’ll play hard defence, run the floor and rebound like hell — exactly the same stuff that earned a spot in the NBA. With his health back, the veteran hopes to turn heads again and get another shot in the NBA — something he still has his eyes set on.

“I’m definitely going to try and get back, give it one more shot because I worked so hard to get in there after not getting drafted,” said Birch.

“I’m just going to be patiently waiting and we’ll see. I’m not in any rush. I just want to wait for the best opportunity and then we’ll see and go from there.”