Which NBA players could suit up for Team Canada this summer?

If you’re a fan of Canadian basketball, then you’ve definitely pondered at some point what a fully-loaded men’s national team could look like.

At the start of the 2020-21 NBA campaign back in late December, there were 20 Canadians who started the season on NBA rosters, all of whom are names that should be considered when assembling Canada’s roster for this summer’s Olympic qualifier in Victoria and, if they make it, the Olympic Games themselves.

However, due to circumstances that have taken place during the season and better understanding of some key dates on both the NBA’s and FIBA’s calendar, the reality is not every Canadian NBA player will be able to suit up for Canada this summer, unfortunately.

Still, despite knowing this, it’s hard not to daydream about the promise of what this golden generation of Canadian basketball talent might be able to accomplish, and even not fully-loaded Team Canada has a chance to be well represented with Canadian NBA talent.

How much, however, is still up in the air. But over the course of the NBA season, we’ve heard confirmation from players here and there about a desire to play for Team Canada this summer.

Here’s a look at those players and a glance at the situation of other Canadian players around the Association, too.

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Key dates

Before diving into the specific of players, it’s important to keep in mind a few dates that will relate to some different situations this summer.

The key dates to keep in mind are as follows:

• May 22 – July 22 (at the latest): 2021 NBA Playoffs
• June 29 – July 4: Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria, B.C.
• July 23 – August 8: Tokyo Olympics
• July 29: 2021 NBA Draft
• Aug. 2: NBA Free Agency opens

It’s important to keep these five events in mind when thinking about potential Canadian talent that could be available. Depending on how far some of these players’ NBA teams go in the playoffs, there’s a chance they might not be available for the Olympic qualifier or the the Olympics. Plus with the draft and free agency happening while the Games are going on, possible rookie candidates and players without an NBA contract for next season and/or beyond will also likely be unable to participate as taking care of one’s professional situation generally takes precedence.

Players who have expressed interest in playing this summer

And now for the reason why you’re here. The following, over the course of the season, have expressed interest in playing for Team Canada this summer when we’ve asked them about it: RJ Barrett, Khem Birch, Dillon Brooks and Luguentz Dort.

Here’s what they exactly said when asked about playing for Team Canada:

“If I’m available, I’m gonna play. I want to play,” said Barrett, whose New York Knicks will see the Toronto Raptors on Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet East and Sportsnet ONE Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. “I want to play every summer if I can.”

“For Team Canada I’m looking to tryout and make the team this summer, and to compete and to qualify for the Olympics,” Dort said.

And said Brooks: “Anytime I get a chance to play for my country I’ll play. This year is a special year — we’ve got so many players in the NBA, so [much] great Canadian talent. So this is probably the year where we put Canada on the map.”

In regards to Birch, he’s expressed interest in wanting to play, but his contract situation (more on this later) may not allow him to suit up for Canada.

“As of now, I want to play. Going to the Olympics is on my bucket list. I don’t want to say that I am going to because I don’t want to go back on my word, but right now I really want to play,” Birch said. “Going to the Olympics with Team Canada has been on my bucket list since I’ve been playing with Team Canada. So, as of now, I want to play.”

Players under contract but we don’t know yet their interest

The following are players who have NBA contracts secured for next season, meaning they should be available to play, but we don’t know yet if they’ll want to/be available to suit up for Canada: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Brandon Clarke, Dwight Powell, Tristan Thompson and Andrew Wiggins.

Any of these five players would be a huge boon to Team Canada — in particular the three bigs Clarke, Powell and Thompson, as Canada could be looking at a dearth of quality bigs this summer.

And with the strides Alexander-Walker’s taken this season, coming into his own as a dynamic scorer, and the career season Andrew Wiggins is enjoying this season in many ways, their additions would certainly be welcome.

Especially in Wiggins’ case, to dispel the notion that there may have been any bad blood between him and the national program after his last appearance playing for the team during the infamous 2015 FIBA Americas Championship.

Injured players

A lot can change between now and the start of the qualifiers, but at the moment there are players dealing with injuries, leaving their status uncertain for the summer or just downright not possible. These players are Chris Boucher, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray.

In Murray’s case, he brutally suffered a torn ACL in his left knee and his status for next season looks up in the air, let alone to play for Team Canada this summer. So, unfortunately, the best Canadian player in the world won’t be available.

As for Gilgeous-Alexander, he’s dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The most recent update, back on April 16, wasn’t good news with Oklahoma City Thunder head coach informing the media that he was “behind in his recovery.” From the perspective of Team Canada, this is a situation that will have to be monitored closely to see if he could be healthy enough to play in Victoria or not.

And in regards to Boucher, the latest on him is he’s suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee. This is good news because it means he’s avoided a more severe injury, but he’s still expected to miss some time as the Toronto Raptors’ season winds down. The big question with Boucher is how much time will he miss exactly, and if his recovery process may end up possibly keeping him out of Team Canada activities in the summer.

Players with uncertain contract situations for next season

Lastly, as much as you may not like to hear it, the different contract situations of Canadian NBA players could very well impact who may or may not be available to play.

As mentioned before, as badly as it seems Birch wants to play for Canada this season, his status as an unrestricted free agent this summer complicates things greatly as he’ll be juggling between his personal well-being and his great desire to suit up for his country.

And he’s not the only player in this situation, either. Joining Birch in Canadian NBA players with uncertain contract situations heading into free agency this summer are Ignas Brazdeikis, Oshae Brissett, Nate Darling, Cory Joseph, Mfiondu Kabengele, Trey Lyles, Karim Mane, Mychal Mulder and Kelly Olynyk.

There are some special cases here such as the veteran Joseph’s, who has a partially-guaranteed contract for next season, but with it only being partially guaranteed it’s possible he may have to think twice about playing for Team Canada this summer in order to secure his own situation.

Additionally, Brissett and Mulder are also on non-guaranteed contracts, and Darling and Mané are currently on two-way contracts, so prioritizing their health and fitness level coming into next NBA season may be a priority for them as they try to establish their NBA careers.

Also, in the case of Brazdeikis, as a dual Lithianian-born Canadian, there’s the added wrinkle that he could play for the Lithunanian national team, too.

And while the pending status of all of these players would be a blow to Canada should they be unable to play, not having Olynyk available, in particular, would be heartbreaking.

Olynyk, Joseph and Thompson are something akin to the heart and soul of Canada’s national team, answering the call nearly every summer since they first joined the senior national team about a decade ago. The talent will obviously be missed, but more than that, the experience Olynyk and other veterans like him bring to the table are invaluable given how wild FIBA games can get.

A Team Canada without Olynyk just doesn’t seem right.

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