Canada will form best-ever team after revealing loaded roster of NBA talent
Canada Basketball looks poised to put together its best-ever team for next month’s World Cup.
A training camp roster of 18 players was revealed by Canada Basketball today, highlighted by NBA stars Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), and R.J. Barrett (New York Knicks).
Other NBA talent on Canada’s roster includes: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Utah Jazz), Oshae Brissett (Indiana Pacers), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Cory Joseph (Detroit Pistons), Kelly Olynyk (Utah Jazz), and Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks).
Impressive group of players ready to play for @CanBball at the Basketball World Cup 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/cr5APdShH8
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) July 13, 2023
Andrew Wiggins, who represented Canada at the Olympic qualifiers two years ago, is not on the roster.
Training camp will be held August 1-6 at the OVO Athletic Centre in Toronto.
Canada is set to compete in Group H at the Basketball World Cup, which takes place August 25 to September 10 in the Phillippines, Japan, and Indonesia. Their group phase games are against France (August 25), Lebanon (August 27), and Latvia (August 29).
Canada can qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics with a top-two finish among teams from the Americas in the 32-team tournament. Our men’s national basketball team hasn’t done that since 2000.
Under new head coach Jordi Fernandez, Canada is hoping to make disappointing results in international competition a thing of the past. Canada finished a disappointing 21st at the 2019 World Cup, after many of its NBA stars opted not to play. The team failed to qualify for the following Summer Olympics, despite an improved roster.
“We’re excited to unveil tonight the players named to our training camp roster for next month’s FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup,” said Rowan Barrett, GM and executive vice-president of Canada’s senior men’s program. “The team will be composed of players committed to play from both the summer and winter cores in the current Olympic quad. The familiarity, continuity and consistency this group brings will be critical as we pursue our goal of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
Murray is fresh off winning an NBA championship with the Nuggets. The Kitchener-born point guard averaged 20 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.0 rebounds last season. Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the highest-scoring players in the NBA last season, with the Toronto native scoring 31.4 points per game. Barrett, 23, scored 19.6 points per game with the Knicks last season.
Other Canadians on this team that averaged double digits in points includes Brooks (14.3), Dort (13.7), and Olynyk (12.5).
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