NBA players headline Canada's roster
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 among the NBA players set to attend training camp June 2730 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.
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 Toronto 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 was limited to 56 contests in 2021-22 due to injuries. He set career highs with 24.5 points, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, and tied 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 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 on 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.
TEAM CANADA
Here is the roster: Kyle Alexander, forward, Milton, Ont.; Nickeil Alexander-walker, guard, Toronto; Trae BellHaynes, guard, Toronto; Aaron Best, guard, Toronto; Kenny Chery, guard, Montreal; Zach Edey, centre, Toronto; Melvin Ejim. forward, Toronto; Shai Gilgeous-alexander, guard, Hamilton, Ont.; 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.