The Canadian men’s national team converged at the OVO Athletic Centre in Toronto on Tuesday for training camp ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Shai-Gilgeous Alexander (Oklahoma City), RJ Barrett (New York), Dillon Brooks (Houston), Lu Dort (Oklahoma City) and Jamal Murray (Denver) were among those in attendance. The group features mostly NBA players with some from European clubs.
Purdue center Zach Edey is the lone college player in the camp.
The team received interest from several players for the upcoming tournament but general manager Rowan Barrett said it prioritized those that adhered to their three-year commitment. The 18-man training camp roster will need to be pared to 12.
The camp will run through Sunday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvanV3XAsM-/?hl=en
Canada Basketball announced Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez as head coach of the team on June 28. He replaced Nick Nurse, who stepped down from that role last month. Fernandez will be joined by current assistants Nate Bjorkgren and Nathaniel Mitchell.
The team will open play in Group H on Aug. 25 against France in Indonesia. It will face Lebanon on Aug. 27 and wrap up the group phase on Aug. 29 with Latvia. The top two teams from each group will advance to the second round.
To prepare, the Canadians will play Germany in the first of five exhibition games on Aug. 9 in Berlin. The group will play two games in the Basketball SuperCup and then face Spain on Aug. 17 and the Dominican Republic on Aug. 18.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup will help seven countries qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The seven spots include the top two teams from the Americas and Europe (not including host France) and one team from Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Canada last qualified for the Olympics in 2000.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=650262849]