Playing for Canada Basketball is like riding a bike.

So even though she hadn't stepped on the court with her SWNT teammates this year until just a couple weeks before the Rio Summer Games, Natalie Achonwa got up to speed pretty quick.

"A big benefit of being on the team since I was 16 and being integrated in Canada Basketball so early is that it's not that hard to pick it up...It's ingrained in how I play wherever I play, so it's easy to transition back into Canada Basketball because they do such a good job of bringing us in when we're younger," said Natalie, 23. "Being part of Canada Basketball, it's a positive vibe, there's positive energy, so it makes the transition easier," adds Natalie, who is in her seventh year with the national program and enters the Olympics having played 79 games for her country.

"Even when you're messing up, your teammates are still encouraging you, still reminding you and still helping out, so there's nothing that can't be fixed in a practice or two."

In late July Natalie met up with Team Canada in Toronto after finishing the pre-Olympic break portion of the WNBA schedule with her professional team, the Indiana Fever.

"The last two weeks when all my Indiana Fever teammates were booking their vacations just reminded me of how much closer I am to being a part of Canada again and reminded me of my vacation, which is Rio and being part of the Olympics," says the six-foot-three native of Guelph, Ont. "So it's been exciting to join the team, and the excitement didn't let down when I did."

Natalie is accustomed to limited preparation time: She was part of the 2012 SWNT that had less than four weeks between qualifying for the Olympics and playing their first game in London.

In this case, Team Canada booked a spot in Rio well in advance, winning the FIBA Americas Championship last August.

"The mindset is completely different," Natalie explains. "We don't have to debrief from a qualifying tournament right before we're trying to prep for the Olympics. Qualifying a year early gave us so much time to prepare, mentally and physically. It's a complete different go-around this time."

‍