TORONTO — Andrew Wiggins will not join the Canadian basketball team for training camp, a decision that is beyond his control.
Team Canada general manager Rowan Barrett confirmed that Wiggins would not be in camp due to a refusal from his NBA team, the Golden State Warriors.
Wiggins and 19 other players received an invitation to the training camp for the Paris Olympics.
“We talked to him regularly,” Barrett said. He trained for weeks and weeks to prepare. And then I get a call from Golden State (this week), telling me that the club is opposed to it. (I take it that) it’s not Andrew’s decision but the team’s. He won’t be with us.”
The 29-year-old won an NBA title with the Warriors in 2022, the same year he was named to the league’s All-Star Game.
He most recently played for the Maple Leaf in 2021 at the Olympic qualifying tournament.
NBA Rookie of the Year in 2015, Wiggins had expressed interest in joining Canada for the Olympics.
“I’m disappointed for him,” Barrett said. “He’s been through a lot the last few years. His mom was an Olympian. I had a good conversation with him and he really wants the best for the guys.”
Also on the list of players are RJ Barrett (son of Rowan), Jamal Murray, Luguentz Dort from Montreal and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, among others.
The camp started Friday and will continue until July 7 in Toronto.
Canada won its first World Cup medal last year, beating the United States for bronze.
Murray was not there because the tournament began just two months after he won the NBA championship, with Denver.
2024-06-29 05:31:55
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