Indiana Pacers: Oshae Brissett commits to Team Canada’s core roster

The Indiana Pacers have had many players represent their national team’s in the offseason. Recently, Domantas Sabonis played for Lithuania last summer and will do so again. Goga Bitadze will also play for his national team in Georgia.

There are 14 players that committed to the senior men’s national team and will represent Canada between now and the 2024 Olympic Games. They will play in this summer’s world cup qualifiers. The 2023 FIBA men’s World Cup lasts from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, 2023, in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.

The Indiana Pacers will have two players representing the team. One is current and one is a former member of the franchise. Oshae Brissett and Corey Joseph will sport that role.

Oshae Brissett was born in Toronto and will turn 24 in June. He is entering his fourth NBA season and his third with the Indiana Pacers after spending his first season with the Raptors G-League affiliate. He played 19 games for the Raptors in the 2019-20 season.

Brissett has grown as a player in his two seasons with the Pacers. He averages 9.6 points a game and 5.4 rebounds in those two seasons and shoots 36% from the field.

With another coaching change last season for Indiana, Oshae had to showcase his abilities in-game to prove he could be in the rotation. He did that quickly.

An unfortunate circumstance for Brissett, the Pacers were undecisive in direction until the NBA trade deadline, when he took off in production. After the deadline, he averaged 14.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, and scored a season-high 28 points. His defensive awareness and flashy athleticism make him fun to watch on the court.

Corey Joeseph will also join the roster, who spent two seasons in Indiana. He currently plays for the Detroit Pistons. For the Pacers, Joseph was a solid defender and averaged 7.2 points a game and 3.5 assists in two seasons. He shot 33% from three.

There has been continuity in the coaching staff with Raptors assistants Nate Bjorkgren and Nathaniel Mitchell coaching the Canadian team in the first two FIBA World Cup qualifier windows.

Brissett certainly has familiarity as do many Pacers fans with Nate Bjorkgren. His short tenure with the Pacers was interesting, and now he has returned to the Raptors as an assistant coach.

The 14 players who will represent Team Canada:

-Nickeil Alexander-Walker
-R.J. Barrett
-Khem Birch
–Oshae Brissett
-Dillon Brooks
-Luguentz Dort
-Zach Edey
-Melvin Ejim
-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
–Cory Joseph
-Jamal Murray
-Kelly Olynyk
-Kevin Pangos
-Dwight Powell

Canada Basketball announced the men’s team will host the Dominican Republic, which is home for Pacers rookie Chris Duarte, in a qualifier on July 1st in Hamilton. Then, they will travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands on the road in Saint Thomas on July 4th to wrap up the third window of qualification.