SGA headlines Canada’s roster for FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers; Murray left off

Canada Basketball unveiled its 24-man player pool for Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers on Monday, with reigning National Basketball Association MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set to lead a star-studded roster.

Other prominent NBA stars on the roster include RJ Barrett of the Toronto Raptors, Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the Atlanta Hawks and Dillon Brooks of the Houston Rockets.

In all, 12 members of the roster are currently active on NBA rosters, including Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammate with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Luguentz Dort, Kyshawn George, Bennedict Mathurin, Leonard Miller, brothers Andrew and Ryan Nembhard, Kelly Olynyk and Will Riley.

While the pool allows for 24 players, there are currently 23 players named on Canada’s roster. Notable exclusions include Jamal Murray, who is a star point guard with the Denver Nuggets, former NBA champion and All-Star Andrew Wiggins, Zach Edey and Shaedon Sharpe. Both Sharpe and Edey were top-10 selections in their respective draft classes over the past five seasons.

The next iteration of the FIBA basketball World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar from Aug. 27 to Sept. 12, 2027.

Canadian basketball achieved its peak performance at a FIBA tournament the last World Cup, which took place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia in 2023. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 24.5 points per game - fourth-most of any player in the tournament - to push Canada to a bronze-medal finish. That was the only medal Canada has ever received in FIBA competition, but the team has their sights set even higher this time around.

“Going into this next quad under the leadership and guidance of Gordie Herbert, our expectations are obviously to continue growing and to win,” Canada’s head coach Nathaniel Mitchell said in November. “Qualifying for the World Cup is the most important thing, and in order to do that, we have to compete and win every game we play.”

Canada will be coached by Mitchell while their regular head coach, Herbert, continues to work with Bayern Munich in Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga.

“This quad, our expectation is to get to the top of the podium,” executive vise-president and general manager Rowan Barrett said in a release on Monday. “We believe we have the athletes, the experience and the coaching staff in place to take that next step.”

The third window of the qualifiers will take place at the beginning of July, when Canada hosts Puerto Rico on July 3 and Jamaica on July 6. Those games will both be played in Hamilton, Ont., the hometown of Gilgeous-Alexander. The Canadian team swept the first two qualification windows and sit atop Group B at 4-0.