By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Former two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash talked about why he believes many players are withdrawing, for various reasons, from representing their Canada in the World Cup.
Nash, a longtime player of the Canadian national team, said that times have changed and the business aspect of basketball has become too “big” so the players re-consider their priorities.
“The business of basketball has just gotten so big. And the money that players are making and the values of their franchises is so huge. And the opportunities they have evolved so much that it’s not quite as simple as it was back in the day. And I do think that the times have changed. I think you’re seeing it with the U.S. players as well.
“So I think it’s a bit of a global issue in a sense. It just doesn’t carry quite the same weight that it used to. That’s a part of the challenge, it’s part of the reason I came back and worked with the national team, when I was still playing actually, to try to elevate the program to a place where players were excited to play.
“And I think over the last eight, nine years we’ve had a lot of the NBA players come out. This year’s been a little bit disappointing because it’s a World Cup year. But we still have plenty of them that are in the running to play this year and hopefully, this is a unique year of guys dropping out for various reasons rather than the norm.”
Canada’s World Cup absences include RJ Barrett, Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dwight Powell, Brandon Clarke, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dillon Brooks, Trey Lyles, Mfiondu Kabengele, and Nik Stauskas.