Once one of the top 10 basketballs in the world, Canada is seeking to find its position. With a preliminary list of 29 world-leading names, Canada is more confident than ever when the FIBA World Cup is approaching.
After 9 consecutive appearances at the FIBA World Cup 1970 – 2002, Canada missed the 2006 season, they returned in 2010 and ranked in 22nd. Now, they are on their way to find their place on the world basketball map. The best performance of the Canadian basketball team is ranked 6th overall at FIBA World Cup in 1978 and 1982.
This year, Canada passed the FIBA World Cup qualifiers for the Americas with 10 favorites – 2 losses and topped the group.
The official list of names to be present at the training will be announced in the next few days. After the training, coach Nick Nurse will have two friendly matches with Nigeria in Toronto and Winnipeg. They will then continue to Austraylia to participate in 5 other friendly matches with Australia (August 16 and August 17), New Zealand (August 20 and August 21), the US (August 26) before going to China to attend the biggest basketball festival on the planet
In the preliminary list, 17 names are playing in the NBA, 9 players are playing in major national championships, 2 young players are still attending US universities and a name comes from G League.
Along with NBA veterans Cory Joseph, Jamal Murray, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell and Tristan Thompson, four players have just arrived at the NBA after the last draft. Most notable is probably RJ Barrett with pick 3, Nickeil Alexander-Walker pick 17, Brandon Clarke at # 21 and Mfiondu Kabengele at # 27.
12 of the 29 names mentioned above will be led by Toronto Raptors coach – Nick Nurse, who has just returned to the prestigious NBA title.
“These athletes show how deep in the squad and proven Canadian basketball talent. And this list also shows that Canada is well prepared to meet the challenges it will face at FIBA World Cup. ” Rowan Barrett – GM of the Canadian national basketball team shared.
