By Canadian Press

NBA star Gilgeous-Alexander headlines Canada roster for upcoming World Cup qualifiers

Jun 24, 2022 | 10:54 AM

TORONTO — Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headlines the 16-player roster for next week’s Canadian men’s national team training camp ahead of the third window of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 qualifiers.

The Hamilton guard is one of four NBA players set to attend training camp June 27-30 at OVO Athletic Centre in Toronto.

Utah guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Toronto, Dallas power forward Dwight Powell of Toronto and Detroit centre Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., are also on the roster released Friday by Basketball Canada.

R.J. Barrett (New York), Oshae Brissett (Indiana), Khem Birch (Toronto), Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City), Jamal Murray (Denver) and Kevin Pangos (CSKA Moscow) will be at camp, but won’t participate in the qualifying window.

Cory Joseph (Detroit) will not attend camp due to family reasons.

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Absent from the roster are forward Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., who is coming off a breakout performance as part of the Golden State Warriors’ championship run, and Montreal centre Chris Boucher, who is entering unrestricted free agency after four seasons with the Raptors.

Phil Scrubb of Richmond, B.C., a veteran of 55 appearances for the national team, was also named to the roster, along with brother Thomas Scrubb (23 appearances).

Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off an ankle injury that kept him out of the Thunder’s final 10 games of the season. He was limited to 56 contests in 2021-22 due to injuries.

When he did play, Gilgeous-Alexander was impressive, setting career-highs with 24.5 points, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, and tying a career-best mark with an average of 5.9 assists.

Alexander-Walker posted 10.6 points per game last season, which he split between New Orleans and Utah.

Olynyk, a national team regular with 41 appearances, put up 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds a game with Detroit in 2021-22.

Powell averaged 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in his eighth season with Dallas.

Canada will face the Dominican Republic July 1 at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton before travelling to the U.S. Virgin Islands for a matchup on July 4.

The Canadians are undefeated through the first two windows with a 4-0 record and have already booked a spot in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers.

CANADA:

Kyle Alexander, forward, Milton, Ont.; Nickeil Alexander-Walker, guard, Toronto; Trae Bell-Haynes, guard, Toronto; Aaron Best, guard, Toronto; Kenny Chery, guard, Montreal; Zach Edey, centre, Toronto; Melvin Ejim. forward, Toronto; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, guard, Hamilton; Kaza Kajami-Keane, guard, Ajax, Ont.; Conor Morgan, forward, Victoria; Jean-Victor Mukama, guard, Hamilton; Kelly Olynyk, centre. Kamloops, B.C.; Dwight Powell, forward, Toronto;  Kassius Robertson, guard, Toronto; Phil Scrubb, guard, Richmond, B.C.; Thomas Scrubb, forward, Richmond.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2022.

The Canadian Press