As the best in his country, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has full confidence in his Canada Basketball Senior Men’s Team’s chances to compete in the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Following his visit to his hometown of Toronto where the Oklahoma City Thunder fell to a 128-111 loss against the Raptors, Gilgeous-Alexander expressed his strong belief that Canada is in a good place to capture and hold on to the coveted FIBA’s Naismith trophy this year. Championships.
“I think we’re in a good position,” Gilgeous-Alexander said in his postgame presser. “I think we are really talented. I think we’ll mesh together really well. As long as we’re all focused on winning, and doing whatever it takes, we’ll be fine.”
Canada, currently 15th in the FIBA World Rankings, punched their ticket to the World Cup after dominating the Americas Qualifier – winning 11 of the 12 games it played.
Behind the tactics of head coach Nick Nurse, the basketball club features a number of talented NBA players including Gilgeous-Alexander, Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks, Trey Lyles, and Dwight Powell.
Because of this, it is yet to be seen who will make the cut to fill the country’s 12-man roster that will be sent to Jakarta, Indonesia.
The upcoming World Cup will also be very significant for Canadians to fulfill their ambition to be in the 2024 Olympics, as the two best finishing teams from the Americas will automatically lock their seats to head to Paris.
For now, Gilgeous-Alexander and her Canadian team will have to wait and prepare for their tournament group as the World Cup Draw will take place on April 23 in Manila.