Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins was not on the Canadian national team when it won a bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup last summer. Might he be on the roster for this summer’s Olympic Games, though?
“Stay tuned,” Wiggins told reporters on a conference call on Thursday, via Sportsnet’s Michael Grange.
On the one hand, Wiggins didn’t exactly dismiss the possibility. “They had a great summer last year when they had qualified for the Olympics,” he said. “All those guys did their thing and really put on [a show] for the country, and I’d be honored to play for our country.”
On the other hand, he didn’t promise anything. “We’ll see what happens, you know, you guys just stay tuned and, you know, we’ll see what the road brings,” he said.
Earlier this week, Wiggins was similarly noncommittal in an interview with TSN. “It’s great momentum, translating to the Olympics,” he said. “We had a great summer last year, a successful summer. It’s Canada’s first time in the Olympics in a long time. But to answer your question, just stay tuned and we’ll see how the summer goes on.”
Wiggins last represented his country in 2021 as part of the team that failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. At a qualifying tournament on their home soil in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada lost in the semifinals after Tomas Satoransky of the Czech Republic banked in a game-winning jumper in overtime. In the aftermath of that heartbreaker, a group of 14 players committed to be part of the program for the three summers that followed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Luguentz Dort, Kelly Olynyk and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were among the 14. Wiggins was not.
After missing the World Cup for “additional recovery and rehab” after winning an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets last year, Murray is expected to be on the roster for the Paris Olympics. So is Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, per Sportsnet. In March, Brooks told The Canadian Press that he wanted them — and Wiggins — to join the party.
“We gotta get better,” Brooks said. “So add Jamal, add in Nembhard, add in Wiggins. That’s going to make our team better. Those guys are selfless players.”
Jordi Fernández, the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, will coach the team for the second consecutive summer. He was not part of the Canada basketball program when Wiggins declined to be a part of the “summer core,” but general manager Rowan Barrett was.
With or without Wiggins, Canada will have one of the more talented rosters in the tournament. It is a testament to its depth that it was able to qualify for the Olympics without him. If he’s willing to participate, though, and if the other players want him to be there, it would be awfully tough to turn him away.
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