Andrew Wiggins’ Absence from Team Canada: A Deep Dive

Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins will not be participating in the upcoming Olympics with Team Canada. Despite being named to the training camp roster in June, Wiggins missed the start of the Canadian national men’s basketball team training camp on Friday due to medical reasons, as reported by The Athletic.

Wiggins, born and raised in the Toronto area, was initially expected to join the national team. However, Canadian general manager Rowan Barrett mentioned during a media availability on Friday that the Warriors informed him only a few days before the camp that Wiggins would not be available. According to a Golden State spokesperson, this was a mutual decision between Wiggins and the team based on medical grounds. Barrett, however, suggested that the Warriors did not provide a clear reason and implied that they were blocking Wiggins from joining the national team. “Well, for us, Andrew was fine,” Barrett said, per The Athletic. “We were talking to him consistently. He’s been training for weeks and weeks getting ready for this. And then I got a call from Golden State a day or two before camp saying that they’re holding him out. So, from what I see, this is not an Andrew decision. This is from the team.”

Despite a strong performance during the 2024 NBA season, playing in 71 games and starting 59 of them, Wiggins suffered an ankle injury late in the season that may have influenced this decision. The 29-year-old forward finished the season with averages of 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Wiggins has a history with the Canadian national team, having played for Canada’s U17 and U18 teams before joining the senior team, where he has played 20 games. His last appearance for Team Canada was in 2021, during a tournament loss that prevented the team from qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. In 2022, Canada implemented a policy requiring players to commit to a three-year training camp period to be considered for the Olympics. Wiggins could not make this commitment due to the Warriors’ successful NBA championship run and his impending free agency, which eventually led to him signing a four-year, $109 million extension with Golden State. Canada later relaxed these commitment restrictions.

Regardless of Wiggins’ participation, this will mark Canada’s first appearance at the Olympics since 2000, following a strong campaign to qualify.