After playing in his hometown gym earlier this summer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will sit out Canada's next couple of games in the waning months of the 2026 FIBA World Cup qualifier. He was not named on the 15-player roster as Canada hosts two opponents this upcoming week.
Canada will face Panama on Thursday, Aug. 27 and Argentina on Monday, Aug. 31. It has a 6-0 record in Group B and comfortably sits in first place. Odds are, Canada should punch its ticket for the next two summers' worth of events with the 2027 FIBA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.
Since Gilgeous-Alexander ascended as an NBA superstar and two-time MVP, Canada has enjoyed its best years in program history. It finished Bronze in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and in fifth place at the 2024
Summer Olympics. Both some of the best finishes in the country's history.
Notably enough, Lu Dort will play for Canada. It makes sense as the upcoming two games will be played in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It's the first time he'll play a game since the Oklahoma City Thunder traded him to the Atlanta Hawks earlier this offseason. Before that, he was tied with Gilgeous-Alexander for longest-tenured player at seven seasons.
We're about a month away from the Thunder kicking off their 2026-27 NBA training camp. Once that happens, OKC will return to a game-every-other-night schedule. So it makes sense for Gilgeous-Alexander to enjoy his last month off. Especially since Canada should take care of business against both opponents without him. It has plenty of other NBA talent who'll suit up.
Our 15 🍁
— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) August 25, 2026
Training camp roster heading into window 4 of the FIBA Men’s World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifiers
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Nos 15 🍁
Formation pour le camp d’entraînement en vue de la quatrième fenêtre des qualifications des Amériques pour la Coupe du monde masculine FIBA 2027#SMNT #FWCQ pic.twitter.com/jgAmkCnSJo
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to sit out Canada's upcoming FIBA window
