No Olympics for Wiggins: Why former Kansas wing won’t be playing for Team Canada

Former University of Kansas men’s basketball small forward Andrew Wiggins will not play for his native Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

A 6-foot-7, 29-year old Toronto native and member of the Golden State Warriors the past five seasons, Wiggins did not attend Team Canada’s training camp over the weekend amid a Toronto Star report that the Warriors would not let Wiggins participate.

The report said the NBA team is concerned about the possibility he could re-aggravate an ankle injury that forced him to miss some games at the end of the 2023-24 season.

The Warriors reportedly have been shopping the 10-year NBA veteran in possible trades, including a proposed deal with Chicago that apparently is no longer on the table.

Team Canada general manager Rowan Barrett told reporters at Team Canada training camp in Toronto that the Warriors were holding Wiggins out of the Games. A team official, however told The Athletic the decision to keep Wiggins off the team was made mutually by Wiggins and Warriors officials.

An unnamed Golden State official responded by saying the Warriors do not have the authority to prevent Wiggins from playing for Canada in the Games.

“For us, Andrew was fine,” Barrett said at camp. “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 (which opened Friday) saying that they’re holding him out. So, from what I see, this is not an Andrew decision, this is from the team. And so, he won’t be with us.

“I’m disappointed for him,” Barrett added. “He’s gone through a lot the last couple of years and then, obviously, his mother was an Olympian and this is something he’s looking forward to and working toward and really on the uphill climb it seemed like in everything.”

Barrett recalled how he received the news.

“That’s something you have to talk to them (Warriors) about. But, yeah. Just a simple, ‘Rowan, I’m sorry. We’ve got to pull him out. We can’t have him participate.’”

Wiggins is entering the second year of a four-year contract worth $109 million. The Ringer reports that he is currently being “aggressively dangled” in the trade market.

According to Michael Grange of sportsnet.ca: “We many never know exactly why Wiggins was ruled out. While NBA teams can withhold players under contract from international play due to a pre-existing medical condition, they can’t otherwise prevent a player from competition, and given the NBA’s commitment to the Olympics overall — it’s been the ultimate international marketing event for the league since the Dream Team held center stage in Barcelona in 1992 — having teams pressuring players not to participate would be frowned upon, according to league sources.

“And it should be noted that Warriors star Steph Curry is playing for Team USA this summer, which is being coached by the Warriors’ Steve Kerr. Warriors stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are gold medalists from past Olympics.”

Kari Anderson of Yahoo!Sports pointed out, “Wiggins has played for the Canadian senior team for several years, playing 20 games (total) with the team. Wiggins’ last game with Team Canada was in 2021, in a tournament loss that meant the team failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

“However, his inclusion on Canada’s roster came with some dispute. In 2022, Canada asked players to make a three-year commitment to summer training camp to be considered for the Olympics, but Wiggins was unable to make the commitment as the Warriors were in the middle of a run that would eventually lead to a second NBA championship. Wiggins was also a year away from unrestricted free agency and went on to sign a four-year, $109 million extension with Golden State. Canada later relaxed the commitment restrictions.”

He was not a part of the team that defeated Team USA in the bronze medal game at the FIBA World Cup last summer — Canada’s first medal at the event. Canada hoops last competed in the Olympics in 2000.

Wiggins averaged 13.2 points per game (on 45.3% shooting) and 4.5 rebounds in 71 games for the Warriors in 2023-24. The Team Canada roster includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Andrew Nembhard, Dillon Brooks and others.

Wiggins averaged 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in his one-and-done season at KU (2013-14). He was the overall No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.