FIBA — Unlike the United States, Canada can pride itself on having secured the commitment of a fine list of “NBAers” for the next international matches. Enough to allow this selection to look good at the 2023 World Cup?
Indeed, like Steve Kerr (Warriors) in the American camp, Nick Nurse first officiates as a coach in the NBA, among the Raptors. Therefore, the majority of the time it is his right arms Nate Bjorkgren (ex-Pacers) et Nate Mitchell who led the “Road Warriors” during these qualifying windows.
Moreover, the latter are also his assistants on the side of… Toronto and so they “abandoned” him for a few days, without it bothering the Coach of the Year 2020.
« I just felt that we had to find the best way to get our guys to play together, to rub shoulders, to build a system and a culture that kind of just keeps getting stronger as we get together. “, specified in this regard Nick Nurse. ” Nate [Bjorkgren] and Nate [Mitchell] continue to build and pick up where they left off. Merit matters to everyone working together, especially the Raptors, who have been amazing [dans ce processus]. There are all kinds of connections within the Raptors that help the Canadian selection to be successful. »
Eleven “NBAers” have committed to the country
Suffice to say that such results rather inspire optimism for Canada, while the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and others Luguentz there have yet played very little – if at all – and have therefore contributed little to the qualification of their country for the next World Cup.
Nevertheless, these five players are still part of the list of eleven “NBAers” who have undertaken to integrate the new project of the Canadian selection, supposed to lead it to the Paris Olympics 2024. A commitment which, barring injury, consisted of them all making themselves available for training camp last summer, in addition to playing at least two qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup.
A way to establish a form of continuity in the group, in a country that is struggling to shine on the international scene, despite its reservoir. The “Great White North” has already experienced terrible disappointment in 2021, when it failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, despite a qualifying tournament organized at home.
« People were like, ‘How can they beat you? You have NBA players’ “, remembered on this subject Nick Nurse, while the Canadians won only one Olympic medal (1936) and no world medal in their history. ” But the Czechs had been playing together for about ten years, their team that finished 5th in the 2019 World Cup was there and they are really good. They have always played together.
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Like the United States, Canada is struggling to attract its best players in the middle of the NBA season. As a result, he is forced to qualify for the major international events with a B or even C team, hoping that it will do the job and then allow the country to settle among the world elite.
Which team in big competition?
Still, to look good at the World Cup or the Olympics, not to mention the AmeriCup, you have to be able to rely on a complete group that already knows each other well enough. Hence the importance for the 15th FIBA nation to obtain, in advance, the commitment of as many players as possible.
« I think everyone is aware of the fact that maybe we will have all these players with us “, confided first Nick Nurse, in the form of a warning to the other selections. ” There are a lot of good teams internationally, but [tout résultat] will depend on how many people we have and how quickly we move forward. We’re going to see if we can reach our full potential (or not), and if so, we should look great. »
In addition to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and Luguentz Dort, Canada could also rely on Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynyk, Cory Joseph, Khem Birch, Oshae Brissett et Nickeil Alexander-Walker at the next World Cup. Not forgetting the young Bennedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe et Andrew Nembhard.
On the other hand, no Brandon Clarke, Chris Duarte, Chris Boucher or Trey Lyles, nor Andrew Wiggins, yet one of the headliners of Canadian basketball. Despite everything, their participation is not ruled out, even if priority will obviously be given to those who have agreed to commit upstream to their selection…
