Joseph cites 'unbreakable brotherhood' of Canada

TORONTO (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - Cory Joseph has consistently turned out for Canada over the years for a couple of very important reasons.

The Toronto Raptors guard says he takes enormous pride in representing his homeland and he also wants to spend time with his friends in the national team program.

"The talented team we have and the great camaraderie in the group of players is an amazing thing," he said to FIBA.com.

There is something else. Joseph, in his own estimation, is the perfect player to go into battle in international competition.

"I think I play kind of a ‘FIBA style’ basketball, because I am a very unselfish player," he said. "I come from the (San Antonio) Spurs’ culture of playing, where the team spirit is the most important.

"The FIBA game is a bit different than what I play when I am in the NBA, but I think that my game is very influenced by the FIBA way of playing basketball."

Joseph had a strong bond with the players of San Antonio, his first NBA team. He also possesses a strong relationship with many of Canada's players.

"I grew up with most of those guys and this brotherhood is strong in the national team," he said.

"This brotherhood is unbreakable. We enjoy playing together and we're enjoying the process."

The process has been difficult to stomach for fans of the national team. Canada, deemed to be on the verge of joining the elite group of programs in international basketball, came up just short of reaching last summer's Olympics.

The Canadians lost to Venezuela at the very end of their Semi-Final at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City. Had they reached the title game, they would have booked a spot in the Rio de Janeiro Games.

Canada then fell to France in a hard-fought Final at the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Manila.

In 2015, Tristan Thompson was a free agent and negotiating a new contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He wasn't able to play at the tournament. Canada fell 79-78 in the do-or-die game for the Olympics to a Venezuela side they had beaten earlier in the competition, 82-62.

At last year's OQT, Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Olynyk were no-shows. Boston Celtics big man Olynyk was recovering from an injury and couldn't take part while Wiggins, instead of playing for the national team, wanted to focus on his individual improvement and get ready for the 2016-17 NBA season.

While he heard criticism for not putting on the Canada shirt, Wiggins did spend a lot of hours in the gym. In this, his third season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he is averaging a career-high 22.9 points per game.

Wiggins is also drilling 35.2 percent (70 for 199) of his attempts from three-point range, an improvement on the 30 percent (57 for 190) of last season.

"It's been tough," Joseph said. "Every year, we haven't had a full roster as all the players were not always available. The contract situations, rightfully so, or for every other reason, I don't hold anything against any of my teammates.

"When we're able to have all the players available, I think we can do something special. I think that every Canadian player understands the importance of representing the country and helping the national team."

Joseph has lofty aims for Canada.

"We haven't done as well as we've wanted so far," he said. "That's what we are focusing on now and we want to compete in the next international competitions, including the 2020 Olympics."

FIBA