Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back in a Canada jersey this weekend. The Thunder All-Star headlines the Canadian roster for the FIBA Americas qualification window, marking his first competitive games since Oklahoma City’s Game 7 loss to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
He won’t be alone. According to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen, SGA will be joined by a handful of familiar NBA names: his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the Hawks, Suns wing Dillon Brooks, Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, and his brother Ryan Nembhard, who plays for Dallas. That’s a decent core for a team trying to lock up a spot in the next round of qualifying.
“Canada Basketball has announced that NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be among those playing for Canada this coming weekend in a FIBA Americas qualification window,” Koreen reported. “Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks, Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard and Dallas’s Ryan Nembhard are among those who will play in the window.”
Lu Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder teammate, is with the team in camp. But he’s reportedly not expected to play. Same goes for a handful of other familiar faces. “Several players are with the team but won’t play, including Luguentz Dort, Bennedict Mathurin, RJ Barrett, Zach Edey, Dwight Powell and Kelly Olynyk,” Koreen added.
Canada takes on Puerto Rico on Friday. That’s the one to watch.
The Lu Dort Contract Question SGA Won’t Answer (But Might)
Gilgeous-Alexander has been getting questions about more than just international hoops. Specifically, about his teammate Lu Dort and the final year of Dort’s five-year, $82.5 million deal. That $17.7 million option for 2026-27 has a Monday deadline attached to it, and the Thunder have to decide whether to pick it up or let him hit the market.
When a reporter asked SGA if he’d put in a good word with GM Sam Presti, he played it straight.
“I will give zero input,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I will let Sam Presti, the greatest GM ever, do his job.”
Classic SGA. But ESPN’s Tim MacMahon isn’t buying it entirely.
“I was told, though, that Shai was playing a little bit coy there,” MacMahon said on NBA Today. “He will at least remind Sam Presti and the Thunder management just how much he values having Lu Dort as his teammate.”
So maybe he does speak up. Maybe he doesn’t. Either way, Dort’s situation is one of those quiet roster decisions that doesn’t get talked about much nationally but matters a lot in Oklahoma City. Dort is the kind of defender every contender needs. A gritty, switchable guard who can bother the other team’s best scorer. He’s not a star, but he’s valuable. And the Thunder have a week to figure out if they want to keep paying him like one.
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